Health insurance is a vital part of financial planning that helps pay for your healthcare. This can include doctor and hospital bills, annual doctor visits, specialist visits, prescription drugs, mental health services, dental care, eye care and other medical-related expenses.
However, many Americans struggle to afford the cost of healthcare insurance.[1] According to health insurance statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, uninsured non-elderly adults (between ages 18 and 64) report that the top reason why they don’t have health insurance is that the cost is too high.[1]
Other health insurance facts suggest that health insurance costs likely won’t be coming down anytime soon. Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace insurers are requesting a 6% average premium hike for 2024, mostly because of inflation and higher levels of care since the pandemic in 2020.[2]
Most Americans have health insurance, but many people have medical debt.
- More people had health insurance in 2022 (92.1%) than in 2021 (91.7%), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. [3]
- An estimated 8.4% or 27.6 million American adults didn’t have healthcare coverage at some point in 2022. [1]
- Hispanic and Black working-age adults were less likely to have healthcare coverage than White/Non-Hispanic or Asian adults in 2022.[3]
- Nearly 25% of adults reported that either they or a member in their household has skipped doses of medicine, cut pills in half or not filled a prescription in the last year due to cost.[2]
- About four in 10 adults (41%) reported having debt from unpaid medical or dental bills.[2]
- Dental services are the most common type of healthcare that adults will delay due to costs (35%). That’s followed by vision services (25%) and a doctor’s visit (24%).[2]
Health Insurance Statistics
- United States health insurance statistics show that Americans are worried about how much health insurance costs and being able to afford healthcare. Of the expenses adults are most concerned about affording, medical bills ranked second to gasoline and/or transportation expenses.[2]
- Cost is preventing people from getting care—8.7% of adults reported not seeing a doctor in 2021 because of the expense.[2]
- Healthcare expenditures per capita averaged $10,191 in the U.S. in 2020.[2]
- Total national healthcare expenditures reached $4.3 trillion in 2021, slightly higher than in 2020, when expenditures totaled $4.1 trillion, and significantly higher than pre-pandemic healthcare expenditures which totaled $3.8 trillion in 2019.[4]
- Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) are the most common type of health plan for covered workers, followed by high deductible health plans (HDHPs).[2]
- The top three leading causes of death in 2021 were heart disease, cancer and Covid-19. [1]
Who Has Health Insurance?
More adults had health insurance in 2022 than in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. An estimated 304 million, or 92.1%, Americans had health insurance at some point in 2022, which is slightly higher than the 300.9 million, or 91.7% of people, who had health insurance at some point in 2021.[3]
Most Americans have health insurance, but many people have medical debt.
- More people had health insurance in 2022 (92.1%) than in 2021 (91.7%), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. [3]
- An estimated 8.4% or 27.6 million American adults didn’t have healthcare coverage at some point in 2022. [1]
- Hispanic and Black working-age adults were less likely to have healthcare coverage than White/Non-Hispanic or Asian adults in 2022.[3]
- Nearly 25% of adults reported that either they or a member in their household has skipped doses of medicine, cut pills in half or not filled a prescription in the last year due to cost.[2]
- About four in 10 adults (41%) reported having debt from unpaid medical or dental bills.[2]
- Dental services are the most common type of healthcare that adults will delay due to costs (35%). That’s followed by vision services (25%) and a doctor’s visit (24%).[2]
Health Insurance Statistics
- United States health insurance statistics show that Americans are worried about how much health insurance costs and being able to afford healthcare. Of the expenses adults are most concerned about affording, medical bills ranked second to gasoline and/or transportation expenses.[2]
- Cost is preventing people from getting care—8.7% of adults reported not seeing a doctor in 2021 because of the expense.[2]
- Healthcare expenditures per capita averaged $10,191 in the U.S. in 2020.[2]
- Total national healthcare expenditures reached $4.3 trillion in 2021, slightly higher than in 2020, when expenditures totaled $4.1 trillion, and significantly higher than pre-pandemic healthcare expenditures which totaled $3.8 trillion in 2019.[4]
- Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) are the most common type of health plan for covered workers, followed by high deductible health plans (HDHPs).[2]
- The top three leading causes of death in 2021 were heart disease, cancer and Covid-19. [1]
Who Has Health Insurance?
More adults had health insurance in 2022 than in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. An estimated 304 million, or 92.1%, Americans had health insurance at some point in 2022, which is slightly higher than the 300.9 million, or 91.7% of people, who had health insurance at some point in 2021.[3]
- Private health insurance was more prevalent than public health insurance in 2022, with 65.6% of insured adults having a private healthcare plan compared to 36.1% having a public healthcare plan. [3]
- Employment-based health insurance was the most common subtype of health insurance coverage, covering 54.5% of the American population.[3]
- Medicaid and Medicare were the second most common subtype of health insurance in 2022, covering 18.8% and 18.7% of the population.[3]
- Direct-purchase healthcare, such as Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, covered 9.9% of the population, followed by TRICARE (2.4%), and VA and CHAMPVA coverage (1%).[3]
- A 2022 Forbes Advisor survey found that 85% of Americans said they are at least somewhat happy with their health insurance plans. [5]
