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This issue brief investigates how the cost of prescription drugs affects the total cost of care for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). It decomposes total health care spending by category, specifically separating out spending on specialty drugs used to treat MS, called Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs). The issue brief subsequently examines whether changes in spending on DMTs are due to changes...

This issue brief compares trends in health care spending from 2012 to 2016 for adults with employer-sponsored insurance who were diagnosed with hypertension to those not diagnosed with hypertension. It also considers how changes in prescription drug spending compare to changes in prescription drug use for adults with a hypertension diagnosis.   Excel Data Tables Machine-Readable Data   D...

 This issue brief explores the distribution of health care spending among commercially insured individuals, with a focus on the top 5 percent of spenders and turnover within that group from year to year. It considers the share of spending incurred by this group of top spenders, how those dollars are distributed among the health care service categories, turnover within the group of top spender...

By: Jeanne Whalen Spending on health care accelerated in 2016 for Americans who get insurance through work, even as use of most health-care services declined or remained flat. The reason, according to a new report: price increases. Rising prices for prescription drugs, surgery, emergency-room visits and other services drove a 4.6% increase in total spending per person, versus 4.1% in 2015 and less...

​Among disabled Medicare beneficiaries, county-level socioeconomic factors are associated with opioid prescriptions, with more prescriptions seen with lower socioeconomic indicators, according to a study published in the January issue of Medical Care. Chao Zhou, Ph.D., from the Health Care Cost Institute in Washington, D.C., and colleagues examined opioid prescriptions of disabled Medicare benefic...

In honor of National Diabetes Month, our inaugural blog post focuses on a topic of particular interest to people with diabetes: the price of insulin. Insulin is the hormone responsible for the body's ability to use sugar and prevent dangerously high and potentially deadly levels of blood sugar. Diabetics are unable to make enough insulin to support their bodies' needs, and thus many are dependent ...

By: Dan Mangan Spending on health care for people who have private insurance accelerated last year, ending a two-year period of more modest spending growth, a new study finds. In 2015, overall spending for people with private health insurance increased by 4.6 percent, according to the Health Care Cost Institute report. Most of that increase, again, was due to higher prices for prescription drugs a...

The 2015 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that spending per privately insured averaged $5,141 in 2015, up $226 from the year before. Key Findings  ​Health care spending averaged $5,141 per individual in 2015, up $226 from the year before.Out-of-pocket spending rose 3.0 percent in 2015, to an average of $813 per capita.Spending on prescription drugs grew faster than spending on an...

The 2014 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report tracks changes in health care prices, utilization, and spending for people younger than 65 covered by employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI). The 2014 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that spending per privately insured person grew 3.4% in 2014, with more dollars going to brand-name drugs than in prior years.   Download Report A...

Children's Health Spending: 2010–2013 shows that spending on healthcare for children (ages 0-18) covered by employer-sponsored insurance grew an average of 5.7% per year. The increase in spending in 2013 occurred despite a drop in the use of prescription drugs and visits to the emergency room, demonstrating that rising health care prices were an evident driver behind the spending increase in that ...

The 2013 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that spending per privately insured grew 3.9% in 2013, as falling utilization offset rising prices. The 2013 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report tracks changes in health care prices, utilization, and spending for people younger than 65 covered by employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI).   Download Report Appendix Tables  Key Fi...

This issue brief summarizes the main findings of the Health Care Cost Institute's (HCCI's) Children's Health Spending: 2009-2012.    Download PDF File Here

The 2012 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that the growth rate of health care spending among privately insured people under age 65 remained low in 2012, growing 4.0 percent, slightly lower than in 2011 (4.1%).   Download Report Appendix Tables Key Findings ​Spending grew fastest for young adults, women, and people living in the Northeast.Out-of-pocket spending rose more quickly t...

 The Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: 2011 provides the first broad look at 2011 health care spending among those with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI). HCCI found that average dollars spent on health care services for that population climbed 4.6 percent in 2011, reaching $4,547 per person. This was well above the 3.8 percent growth rate observed in 2010. Download Report Appendix Ta...

Findings from HCCI's Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: 2011    Download PDF File Here

In the Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: 2010, HCCI found that the health expenditures for children with ESI grew faster than any other age group. This report begins to explore why health care spending for commercially insured children rose so quickly, and whether growing expenditure on children's health care represents a potential long-term trend. HCCI assessed the levels and changes in pr...

The 2010 HCCI Health Care Cost and Utilization Report is the first report of its kind to track changes in expenditures and utilization of health care services by those younger than 65 covered by employer sponsored, private health insurance (ESI). This report assesses the levels and changes in prices and utilization (including changes in the mix of services) focusing on 2009 and 2010. This report i...