REPORTS AND STUDIES

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Study Shows U.S. Health System Often Delivers Less for More - A report from the Commonwealth Fund, just released on Nov. 16, finds that out of 11 wealthy countries, adults in the United States are the most likely to go without needed health care. 

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Progressive Policy Institute analysis:  In 2015, labor costs accounted for 47 percent of the increase in total health expenses; pharmaceutical costs, just 18 percent. 

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Report by Avalere:  Outpatient Services Are the Largest Driver of 2017 Premium Increases

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Center for Sustainable Health study: The proportion of total U.S. health costs that prescription drugs represent has been about 13 percent for a long time, and it is expected to stay that way through at least 2023.

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The New England Journal of Medicine: One reason the U.S. is spending so much on health care is that it spends so little on social services.

FACTS AND STATISTICS

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• Americans pay out-of-pocket 15 percent of the cost of prescription drugs but only 3 percent of the cost of hospitalization. So, even though hospital costs are three times greater than drug costs, we pay over 40 percent more out of our pockets for drugs than we do for hospitalization. The reason: the design of health insurance policies.​

• ​Since 2011, the proportion of employer-sponsored health insurance plans with a pharmaceutical deductible has doubled from 23% to 46%.