Weekly Checkup
July 29, 2015
Medicaid Accounts for 16 Percent of All Health Care Spending in U.S.
In 2014, national spending on health care products and services totaled $3.1 trillion, or $9,695 per person, and accounted for 17.4 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP).[1] Medicaid enrollment grew by 12.9 percent in 2014, while spending on the program grew by 12 percent (federal and state spending grew 17.7 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively) totaling $503.3 billion and accounting for 16.3 percent of national health expenditures (NHE).[2] Average spending per beneficiary in Medicaid was 1.4 times greater than spending on individuals with private health insurance.[3] The chart below provides insight into where that money is going: a large share of the nation’s spending on nursing and retirement care, home health care, and other residential and community-based services are paid for by Medicaid.[4]
[1] https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsProjected.html
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] CMS definitions for NHE categories:
Other professional services– services provided by health practitioners other than physicians and dentists
Other health, residential and personal care– spending for home and community-based waivers, care provided in residential care facilities, ambulance services, school health, and worksite health care