(dailyRx)
Total health care expenses for persons ages 45 to 64 in 2006 ($370 billion) were about double the inflation-adjusted total for 1996 ($187 billion).
These figures are taken from the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. AHRQ’s study covers all people in the U.S. ages 45 to 64 other than those people residing in nursing homes and other institutions.
The federal agency also found that during this period:
- The proportion of people ages 45 to 64 who incurred medical expenses did not change (about 89 percent), but average annual health care expenses for those people with expenses increased from $3,849 (after adjusting for inflation) to $5,455
- Prescribed medicines were a substantially higher proportion of total expenses in 2006 compared to 1996 (25 percent and 15 percent, respectively)
- The proportion of total expenses for hospital inpatient care decreased (from 36 percent to 26 percent)
The average expense per service rendered also increased significantly (in 2006 dollars):
- Physician office visit — $128 to $207
- Inpatient hospital day — $3,005 to $3,491
- Emergency room visit — $563 to $947
- Dental visit — $195 to $265
- Prescription medicines — $103 to $199
The agency, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, improves the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care in the U.S. The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a detailed source of information on the health services used by people in the U.S., the frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services and how they are paid. For more information, go to “Trends in Health Care Expenditures for Adults Ages 45-64: 2006 versus 1996” at www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st255/stat255.pdf.
Contact:
Melva Nowell
301-427-1239
[email protected]