US Health Spending Hit $4.9 Trillion in 2023 as Coverage Grew

US health-care spending, driven by greater usage and intensity of services, grew 7.5% in 2023 to $4.9 trillion, or an average of $14,570 per person, according to federal data released Wednesday.

When adjusted for health-care price inflation, total health spending increased 4.4% in 2023. That’s higher than the inflation-adjusted increase of 1.4% in 2022, and the 2.9% growth of real gross domestic product in 2023.

Meanwhile, 92.5% of the population had health insurance in 2023, as individual coverage through the Obamacare marketplace increased by 2.7 million people, due largely to enhanced premium subsidies offered under the Inflation Reduction Act of ...