A single person in better health with a $20,000 income and individual market or exchange coverage spends $2,800 per year (14% of their income) on health.

Direct Spending on Healthcare

A single person in better health with a $20,000 income and individual market or exchange coverage spends $2,800 per year (14% of their income) on health. This includes $1,000 (5% of their income) in out-of-pocket health spending, $950 (5% of their income) in health insurance premiums, and approximately $850 (4% of their income) in state and federal taxes that fund health programs.

Additional Contributions by Employers

In this scenario, we estimate that the employer is contributing an additional $300 in Medicare payroll taxes, not shown in the chart above. When combined, this person’s spending on health care and the money spent by their employer on their behalf totals $3,100.

The Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF are partnering to monitor how well the U.S. healthcare system is performing in terms of quality and cost.

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