What Areas of Healthcare Spending are Growing?

It's the Government, Stupid

Why is healthcare spending growing so much? Looking under the covers, it is government healthcare programs such Medicare, Medicaid, and VA that are rapidly pushing spending higher. These programs are both growing faster and contributing more dollars of growth than private insurance or out-of-pocket spending.

However, government healthcare spending is not growing faster than private insurance for the reasons that you might think.

Time series chart showing healthcare expenditures by government, private, and out of pocket from 1960-2022

Source: CMS