US Health Insurance Trends: 2024-2034

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released projections of US health insurance levels between 2024 and 2034. In the Hale et al. (2024) study, CBO estimates that: …92.3 percent of the US population, or 316 million people, have coverage in 2024, and 7.7 percent, or 26 million, are uninsured. The uninsured share of the population…

20% of US GDP to be spent on health care

That is the conclusion from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services National Health Expenditure Projections. The paper–published in Health Affairs—summarizes the spending changes as follows: National health expenditures are projected to grow 5.4 percent, on average, over the course of 2022–31 and to account for roughly 20 percent of the economy by the end of that…

CBO projections of US health insurance coverage: 2023-2033

A paper by Hanson et al. (2023) summarizes the Congressional Budget Office’s projections around US health insurance coverage between 2023-2033. They find that low rates of uninsurance due to provisions enacted to combat COVID-19 will not be sustained as these provisions expire: Temporary policies enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have increased Medicaid and…

Largest one-year jump in health spending

According to a recent Health Affairs paper, health care spending as a share of GDP grew by the largest percentage point increase since the U.S. government has tracked national health expenditure.  Not only did the numerator (health spending) increase–especially for public spending–but the denominator also decreased (i.e., GDP).  The article begins as follows: “National health…

CBO Health Care Expenditure Forecasts

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) periodically releases its 75-year health care spending projections. Current projections forecast the following health care spending levels: Total spending on health care would rise from 16% of GDP in 2007 to 25% in 2025, 37% in 2050 and 49% in 2082. Federal spending on Medicare (net of beneficiaries premiums) and…