Introduction
Healthcare is one of the largest costs in the United States; according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the United States spent $4.1trillion on medical costs in 2020, or $12,530 per person. Despite the passage of major healthcare reforms, the United States continues to spend more money every year on healthcare costs.
The United States healthcare system works by patients paying monthly for health insurance; when the patient needs medical care, the insurance will pay for all or part of the bill depending on what the patient’s insurance policy dictates. Because insurance companies can pay more than patients would, the cost of healthcare is often raised for increased payouts by the insurers. This has resulted in private-pay patients being unable to pay their medical bills.
According to the Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16.9% of Americans experience difficulty affording healthcare costs and insurance coverage. Moreover, the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker found other wealthy countries spend about half as much on healthcare as the United States.
Learn for yourself how healthcare costs differ by state by looking at the data in the charts.
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