Healthcare costs up 4.6% in 2015 for newly insured patients: 7 key notes

Practice Management

Healthcare spending is up for patients who are newly insured in 2015, according to a report from UPI.

Here are seven things to know:

 

1. The previously uninsured rate saw a 4.6 percent increase in healthcare spending last year over 2014. The spending increase is more than in the past, with spending only jumping 2.6 percent in 2014 and 3 percent in 2013.

 

2. Higher prescription drug costs, more ER visits and additional hospitalizations drove the spending increase.

 

3. Prescription medication costs were up significantly, with brand-name prescriptions jumping 11 percent in 2015 and generic drug prices climbing 3 percent.

 

4. Americans younger than 65-years-old with employer-sponsored coverage spent an average of $5,141 per person last year. People older than 45-years-old spent $1,000-plus out-of-pocket with expenditures higher among women.

 

5. There was a steady decline in ER visits last year but the cost of the visit increased 10.5 percent.

 

6. The average hospital admission price was $20,000 last year.

 

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