Healthcare spending declined dramatically in 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but expenditures rebounded the following year, according to new data from the Health Care Cost Institute. The group released its annual look at cost and utilization trends last week, which found the average health spending for people with employer-sponsored coverage reached $6,457, up 15% from the 2020 average of $5,630.
Spending declined by 4% in 2020 as utilization decreased, the researchers said. John Hargraves, director of data strategy at HCCI, told Fierce Healthcare that the 2020 data are an aberration in the long-term spending trends, which had grown steadily prior to the pandemic. Read more.
