New Study Examines Health Care Spending During and After the Recession

As the nation recovered from the recession, consumers paid more of the medical spending bill, according to new research based on data from the Washington, D.C.-based Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).

The study, published in this month’s issue of Health Affairs, looked at spending on medical services and prescriptions between 2007 and 2011. During this time, spending per person rose at an average annual rate of 4.9 percent, faster than the economy. Per person spending on medical care increased an average of 5.3 percent annually, while per person spending on prescriptions grew an average of 3.3 percent each year.

Out-of-pocket spending for medical care increased an average of 8 percent each year, compared to a 4.9 percent increase in spending by employers and insurers. The amount consumers paid out of pocket for prescription drugs and devices remained about the same from 2007-2011, as insurers covered a larger portion of prescription costs.

“Overall, spending growth may have slowed after the recession, but consumers, employers, and insurers have had different experiences,” said lead author Carolina Herrera, director of research at HCCI. “After the recession, consumers didn’t see their out-of-pocket medical spending growth slow, but medical spending growth for employers and health plans did slow.”

The study, “Trends Underlying Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Growth for Americans Younger Than Age 65,” is based on the health spending of 40 million people per year between 2007 and 2011. The data was provided to HCCI by Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare – three of the nation’s largest private health insurance companies.

The Health Care Cost Institute was launched in September 2011 supported by Aetna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealthcare to promote independent, nonpartisan research and analysis on the causes of the rise in U.S. healthcare spending.