ABSTRACT
As the US health sector evolves and changes, it is informative to estimate and analyze health spending trends at the state level. These estimates, which provide information about consumption of health care by residents of a state, serve as a baseline for state and national-level policy discussions. This study examines per capita health spending by state of residence and per enrollee spending for the three largest payers (Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance) through 2014. Moreover, it discusses in detail the impacts of the Affordable Care Act implementation and the most recent economic recession and recovery on health spending at the state level. According to this analysis, these factors affected overall annual growth in state health spending and the payers and programs that paid for that care. They did not, however, substantially change state rankings based on per capita spending levels over the period.
Subject(s)
Health Care Costs/statistics & numerical data , Health Expenditures/statistics & numerical data , Medicaid/statistics & numerical data , Medicare/statistics & numerical data , Delivery of Health Care/economics , Economic Recession/statistics & numerical data , Health Expenditures/trends , Humans , Medicaid/economics , Medicare/economics , United StatesABSTRACT
Differing trends in health spending by state underlie national spending trends. To shed light on the complexities of health spending patterns among state residents, we present updated per capita health spending estimates by state of residence for 1991-1998 and new estimates for 1999-2004, and we offer summaries of trends exhibited during these time periods. These statistics provide the opportunity for further analysis, such as examination of variations in state-level spending in Medicare, Medicaid, and total personal health care spending, which can yield new perspectives on recent state health spending trends and provide context for policy discussions.
