The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ actuaries recently released the 2024 National Health Expenditures (NHE). In a new insight, Health Care Policy Analyst Jack Leimann provides an in-depth look at the NHE report and the data it provides on where major spending is occurring.

Key Points:

• NHE are summary figures that compile the nation’s total spending on hospitals and professional services, residential and personal care, home health care, nursing care facilities, sales of medical products, administration of health insurance, government public health activities, and investments.
• NHE 2024 data show total health spending grew to $5.28 trillion, with spending on hospitals and physician services making up $2.74 trillion, more than 50 percent of total NHE spending and over five times as much as the $467 billion spent on prescription drugs.
• The data is critical as the magnitude of these numbers is likely to spur policymakers and others to grasp for quick fixes to reduce spending – such as price caps or access restrictions – but such short-term actions are unlikely to yield effective long-term outcomes.

Read the analysis.