The Safety Hammock: Consumers Paid 48% of Healthcare Costs in 1960. They Pay 11% This Year

Ten years ago, the government was paying for 39% of all health care spending, but that share has only risen. Obamacare is part of this increase:

• In 2014 alone, federal health care spending is projected to increase by 14.7%, rising faster than the growth of private health care spending for the next decade.
• With states expanding their Medicaid programs to take advantage of federal funding under the Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projects Medicaid spending to rise by 18.4% in 2014.

Notably, Obamacare will only further decrease the amount of direct, out-of-pocket health care spending in the country. While consumers paid 48 percent of health care costs out of pocket in 1960, they will pay just 11 percent out of pocket this year.

Source: National Center for Policy Analysis.