Study: Richest 20% of Americans consume almost half the healthcare

Healthcare inequality is alive and well in America. A recent study, published by Health Affairs, has found that wealthy Americans now consumer 43 percent more healthcare than the poorest fifth of Americans.

Analyzing 22 national surveys, between 1963 to 2012, and dividing the American population into five sections allowed researchers to study trends in health expenditures over the years. Results included;

• Between 1963 and 2012, per capita health expenditures grew 549 percent.
• Before the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid, healthcare spending grew the fastest for the poorest Americans.
• Medicare (24.6 percent) and Medicaid (23.8 percent) took up most of the bottom quintile’s expenditures.
• Between 2004 and 2012, per capita expenditures for the poorest quintile fell at a rate of $19.27 (3.7 percent) per year. 
• Healthcare spending for the wealthiest group rose $106.04 (19.7 percent) per year.
• Spending for the middle three quintiles increased only 12.5 percent.

By the year 2012, the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans received 43 percent more health care ($1,743 more per person) than the poorest fifth of Americans, and 23 percent more care ($1,082 per person) than middle-income people. 

“Our findings suggest that inequality in health care spending is also on the rise: Expenditures for the poorest (and sickest) segment of the population are actually falling, while those for the wealthy are growing rapidly and now exceed those for other Americans,” wrote Samuel L. Dickman, lead author, and colleagues. “This pattern, which has not been seen since before Medicare and Medicaid were introduced, could portend a widening of disparities in health outcomes.”