June 8, 2001
AHRQ Releases Data on the Cost of Health Care
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) June 5 released data on the cost of health care in 1997. The average expenditures per person was $2,424, which includes out-of-pocket payments and payments made by any type of insurance or other source. During that year, a total of $553 billion was spent throughout the health care system for services and supplies.
The data are from AHRQ's 1997 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Household Component and are based on a sample of approximately 33,000 individuals, with special emphasis on groups such as the poor, elderly, uninsured, and racial and ethnic minorities. Comparisons between 1997 and 1996 expenditure data and additional information can be found on the MEPS Web.
