Consumers Reach into Their Pockets as U.S. Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Spending Reaches $486 Billion: Report

News provided by

Kalorama Information

Apr 26, 2017, 14:11 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Total consumer out-of-pocket spending reached an estimated at $486 billion in 2016, having risen by 8% per year since 2011, according to Kalorama Information. The New York City-based healthcare market research publisher said that consumers in the United States utilize a variety of methods to pay for healthcare products and services. These are required in instances when payment is not made directly from a healthcare plan directly to the provider.  Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditures in the United States examines the market for consumers' out-of-pocket medical costs, which for individuals has risen from $250 per year in 1980 to over $1,400 in 2016.

"There is still a lot of cash in healthcare; for both elective and non-elective procedures, cash or check represented the most commonly used payment method in 2016, almost $294 billion in out-of-pocket spending." said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "This was due mainly to the use of employee wages to pay healthcare plan premiums, as premiums comprised the lion's share of healthcare expenditures."

Consumers use several different methods to pay out of pocket for healthcare, the following being the key payment options utilized:

  • Cash or check
  • Credit cards
  • Loans and lines of credit
  • Healthcare financing programs
  • Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Health Savings Accounts

Credit cards follow cash or check in popularity, followed by loans or lines of credit. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), healthcare financing programs, and new Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) accounted for very small portions of overall spending.

Healthcare financing programs are a relatively new entrant in this market. To address consumers' increasing inability to finance healthcare costs, a rising number of financial services firms have begun offering patient financing programs. These and other such companies allow patients to finance a variety of procedures on favorable terms, and are similar to conventional unsecured consumer credit in that they offer competitive interest rates, high credit limits, card member services, and incentives such as cash back on purchases, no annual fee, etc.

Through 2021, usage of cash will continue to expand by an estimated 6.1% annually, although other payment methods such as healthcare financing for elective procedures and HSAs will demonstrate much stronger growth from their low bases of current utilization.

Kalorama Information's report examines the average person's out-of-pocket medical costs, including the following data points:

  • distribution of out-of-pocket spending for the average person, 2016, 2021
  • consumer out-of-pocket expenditures per worker, 2011–2021
  • consumer out-of-pocket expenditures by type, 2011–2021
  • proportion of consumer out-of-pocket spending by type of healthcare expenditure, 2011, 2016, 2021
  • average share paid out-of-pocket by U.S. residents with healthcare spending by percentile of total health spending and type of service, 2016
  • average share paid out-of-pocket by U.S. residents with healthcare spending by type of service, 2016
  • consumer out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures by payment type, 2016

The report can be found at: https://www.kaloramainformation.com/Pocket-Healthcare-Expenditures-10781903/.

For more Kalorama reports on healthcare visit: https://www.kaloramainformation.com/healthcare-market-c85/. 

About Kalorama Information

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased through Kalorama's website and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog on our company website.  

Please link any media or news references to our reports or data to http://www.kaloramainformation.com/.

Press Contact: 
Bruce Carlson
212 807 2262                                                         
[email protected]

SOURCE Kalorama Information

Related Links

http://www.kaloramainformation.com

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