This post was created by USAFacts and Insider Studios.
Find out how the U.S. health care system and the health of Americans affect our costs and longevity. Take a look and get the facts.
Transcription:
Steve Ballmer:
Hello. I’m Steve Ballmer. He spent 34 years growing Microsoft and 10 years as owner of the LA Clippers basketball team. I love computers, data, and facts.
That’s why I started USAFacts to understand what the government is up to and what’s happening in America. We share all the facts and data from our government. It’s up to you to decide for yourself.
In this episode of “Just the Facts,” we talk about health and healthcare. But first a quick disclaimer. It will round numbers as you speak, but the data displayed on the screen will be more accurate. I recorded this in mid-June, so things may have changed. I can’t predict the future, but I’ll read about it when it happens.
Now let’s roll it.
I think we can all agree that health is one of the most important things in life. So I wonder, “What about the physical and mental health of Americans?” And how is our health care system working? We’ll focus on the facts, but make your own predictions. There’s a lot to chew on.
Let’s start here. America is getting older, and thankfully so am I. The median age in the United States was just 30 years old in 1980, 35.3 years old in 2000, and 38.9 years old in 2022. In 2022, 3.28 million Americans, about 1% of the total population, will die. Approximately 3.67 million people were born.
The top causes of death reported in 2022 by age group are: Just over 16,000 of the 69 million children between the ages of 1 and 17 died. Approximately 4,900 of these were due to accidents. Unfortunately, 2,100 people died due to homicide. and 1,600 deaths by suicide. Of the 120.5 million people aged 18 to 44, 215,283 people died. Of those, 83,000 were due to accidents, such as accidental drug overdoses. 22,000 people died by suicide. 17,000 people have heart disease. and 16,000 for murder.
Of the roughly 82 million people between the ages of 45 and 64, just over 600,000 died. Approximately 138,000 people died from cancer, 118,000 from heart disease, 65,000 from accidents and 34,000 from coronavirus.
Of the 51.3 million people aged 65 to 84, just under 1.5 million died, including about 350,000 from cancer, 319,000 from heart disease and 93,000 from coronavirus. And of the approximately 6.5 million Americans age 85 and older, 933,000 died, including approximately 249,000 from heart disease, 102,000 from cancer, and 73,000 from Alzheimer’s disease. .
The bottom line from all this is that accidents are the number one cause of death for people between the ages of 1 and 44. Then, at age 45, cancer develops, followed by heart disease. And finally, heart disease becomes the number one cause of death over the age of 85. Let’s dig into the main causes of death. The new coronavirus emerged in 2020 and peaked in early January 2021, killing about 26,000 people per week. However, as of July 2024, the number of deaths per week has decreased to just 600.
Next, let’s look at accidental deaths. Unfortunately, the number has increased over the past decade, totaling over 227,000 in 2022, accounting for 7% of total deaths. Poisoning accidents, including drug overdoses, account for 45% of all accidental deaths. Fentanyl and stimulants are the leading causes of overdoses, with fentanyl overdoses alone increasing from just over 3,000 in 2010 to 74,000 by 2022.
One category, accidental deaths, has improved over time. There were more than 52,000 vehicle accidents in 1970, and since then the U.S. population has grown by 130 million people and the number of vehicle miles driven has nearly tripled from about 1.1 trillion miles to 3.2 trillion miles. Despite this, vehicle fatalities actually fell to just over 42,000 vehicles. In 2022.
Overall, Americans are living longer, which has led to Alzheimer’s disease. As of 2023, 6.7 million Americans over the age of 65 have been diagnosed with the disease. We often hear about firearm-related deaths, and in 2022 there will be 48,000 deaths, including gun-related accidents. 55% of suicides were by gun, and 79% of homicides were by gun. What about active shooter incidents, defined by the FBI as one or more individuals actively involved in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area? This includes mass shootings. This represents only 100 of the 48,000 total gun deaths in 2022. This does not include gang violence or drug-related violence. In 1999, gun deaths accounted for 1.2% of all deaths, increasing to 1.5% in 2022.
Let’s change gears. Let’s look at the main health risk factors: smoking, drinking alcohol, and obesity. First, smoking causes strokes, heart disease, and lung cancer. In fact, the most common type of cancer, lung cancer, is responsible for approximately 90% of deaths, accounting for approximately 130,000 deaths in 2022. Fortunately, cigarettes continue to decline as a proportion of adult smoking and will fall below 14% by 2022.
Next is drinking. Alcohol misuse, such as repeated binge drinking, can not only cause liver disease, but also increase the risk of head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. In 2022, the government identified almost 17% of adults as binge drinkers.
The next risk factor is obesity, which can contribute to increased rates of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Obesity in adults is defined as a BMI of 30 or higher. Take me for example. My height is 5’11”, my weight is 210 lbs, and my BMI is 29.3.
Unfortunately, the obesity rate among American adults has increased from 15.8% in 1995 to 33.6%. oh. How common are mental illnesses? About 34% of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 had a mental illness. Among adults aged 26 to 49, the rate was 28%. 15% of adults over 50 years old.
Let’s take a look at who is insured and who is not. Where does all the health care money go? How much of it comes straight out of your pocket, and who picks up the rest? About 92% of Americans, or 304 million people, will have health insurance in 2022. I had joined. Private insurance covered more than 216 million people, or 66% of the total. Public insurance covered 119 million people. This corresponds to 36% of the total. People may have multiple insurance plans at once, adding up to more than 304 million. The uninsured rate fell from 16% in 2010 to 8% in 2022. Although 2010 was the year the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was passed, there are many factors that may explain the decline in uninsured rates.
This leaves a total of approximately 26 million people without health insurance. Next, let’s look at medical spending. This accounts for 17.3% of America’s gross domestic product ($4.5 trillion). On average, Medicare spends about $15,400 per enrollee. Medicaid, $9,200 per enrollee; and private health insurance, $6,600 per enrollee. CHIP is a children’s program that costs $3,400 per enrollee. Of the $4.5 trillion in health spending, $3.7 trillion goes to personal care, and $760 billion goes to public health, health research, medical facilities, medical equipment, and operating costs for health insurance programs. Ta.
Private health insurance accounts for 31% of all personal health spending in the United States, or $1.2 trillion. Medicare follows with 24% (870 billion). And Medicaid is 19%, or 710 billion. The remaining 13%, or about 470 billion, was all paid by us out of our pockets. This includes copays, deductibles, and drug store purchases. Monthly insurance premiums described below are not included.
So where did this money go? Hospitals accounted for 37%, physicians and medical services accounted for 24%, followed by prescription drugs at just 11%. Average annual health spending per person has increased from just over $3,000 in 1980 to more than $11,000 in 2022. One factor is that the number of people aged 65 and older has increased from about 26 million in 1980 to more than 57 million in 2022. This does not necessarily mean People are paying themselves $11,000 a year.
On average, just over $1,400 came out of our pockets, not including insurance. Most out-of-pocket spending is on so-called non-durable medical products, at 24%. That’s $339. It’s up 180%.
Next is spending on doctors and medical care that comes out of our pockets, then dental services, prescription drugs, nursing home and hospital care, and durable medical equipment like crutches. We are spending more on prescription drugs than ever before, but individuals are paying less out of pocket. From 1980 to 2022, Americans saw their out-of-pocket costs increase from $135 to $170 per person per year, with insurance paying the rest. This really surprised me considering all the talk about drug prices.
Next, let’s talk about insurance premiums. Americans pay $760 billion in premiums each year to private and government insurance programs. Of this amount, insurance premiums paid by employees amounted to approximately 300 billion yen. People buy insurance through health care exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act and pay $70 billion. Americans pay for Medicare through payroll taxes while they work and through premiums they pay once they start receiving Medicare benefits.
The total amount reaches 339 billion annually. Some people also have additional liability insurance that covers some of the nearly 43 billion medical bills. When you add these premiums to other out-of-pocket costs, American households pay $1.2 trillion to the health care system. This equates to just under $3,700 per year for every person in the country. What about the insurance company itself?
For this, let’s look at administrative costs. The total administrative cost and net cost of all insurance programs in 2022 was 334 billion. Medicare had the highest administrative costs, followed by Medicaid, and private insurance at just $644. This was very interesting to me, given that there is so much discussion about how private insurance companies, profits, and costs are driving up the cost of health care.
Let’s check the facts. Add this all up: In 1987, households were paying 37% of health care costs; today they pay 28%. Private companies used to pay 23% and now pay 18%. The state government paid and continues to pay 15%. And the federal government has risen from 17% of the total in 1987 to 33%, the largest portion of health care costs today.
So much for health and healthcare. A very complex topic that affects us all in very real and very personal ways.
I hope you agree. The more you know about health care, the better voters you can be. Just the facts. You decide what to believe.
