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2021 health care cost and utilization report
2021 health care cost and utilization report
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Contributor(s):
- Health Care Cost Institute, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Washington, DC] : Health Care Cost Institute, April 2023
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Facilities and Services Utilization -- trends
Health Care Costs -- trends
Health Expenditures -- trends
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- The 2021 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report presents data on health care spending, utilization, and average prices from 2017 through 2021 for individuals under the age of 65 who receive health insurance coverage through an employer. The report relies on de-identified commercial health insurance claims contributed by CVS Health/Aetna, Humana, and Blue Health Intelligence during this period. The key findings are: (1) In 2021, per-person spending rose to $6,467 from $5,630 in 2020. This total includes amounts paid for medical and pharmacy claims but does not subtract manufacturer rebates for prescription drugs. The average out-of-pocket spending increased to $825 per person from $725 in 2020. (2) Per person health care spending increased 15% in 2021, following a 3.5% decrease in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. (3) Average prices grew 2% in 2021. Cumulatively, prices were 14% higher in 2021 than 2017. Prices grew most for inpatient services (28%) and least for professional services (7%) over the five-year period. Prices reflect changes in unit prices as well as changes in the mix of services provided. (4) Utilization rose 13% from 2020 to 2021, following a 7.5% decline in 2020. Use increased in all service categories (inpatient, outpatient, and professional services and prescription drugs) in 2021. (5) There was growth in spending on several services that are likely related, at least in part, to care associated with COVID-19, including respiratory hospital admissions, lab tests, and vaccines. This report examines trends across four broad categories of service: inpatient admissions; outpatient services; professional (i.e., physician and other clinician) services; and prescription drugs. We also look at granular trends within each category. All data were weighted to reflect the age, gender, and geographic mix of the employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) population by year. We do not adjust for changes in the composition of services provided over time in our main report. We believe the racial and ethnic distribution of the population in HCCI’s data is similar to the national ESI population. Nationally, however, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic populations are under-represented in ESI, so health care costs and use among these people are likely under-represented in this report’s findings.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (25 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918697376506676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918697376506676