Direct Spending on Healthcare
The typical non-elderly single person with individual market or exchange coverage spends $5,600 per year (16% of their $35,010 income) on health. This includes $2,400 (7% of their income) in out-of-pocket health spending, $1,700 (5% of their income) in health insurance premiums, and approximately $1,500 (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 $500 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 $6,100.
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.
