New: NIHCM Report of Concentrated Health Care Spending in US…5% of Population Accounts for 50% of Spending

The Concentration of Health Care Spending

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July 2012

Spending for health care in the U.S. is highly concentrated among a small subset of Americans. Just 5 percent of the population accounted for nearly half of all health care spending in 2009. Understanding these high-spenders is vital for developing strategies to reduce overall spending growth. In this data brief you will learn more about:

• the characteristics and health conditions of the highest spenders,
• the persistence of high spending patterns over time,
• the challenges in targeting the most expensive cases for better care management, and
• the implications of concentrated spending for risk-based payment and insurance market reforms.

This is the third in a series of NIHCM data briefs on U.S. health care spending.