Historical

The National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA) are the official estimates of total health care spending in the United States. Dating back to 1960, the NHEA measures annual U.S. expenditures for health care goods and services, public health activities, government administration, the net cost of health insurance, and investment related to health care. The data are presented by type of service, sources of funding, and by type of sponsor.

U.S. health care spending grew 3.9 percent in 2011, reaching $2.7 trillion or $8,680 per person. As a share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 17.9 percent, the same share as 2010 and 2009.

For additional information, see below.