Trends In US Health Care Spending By Income, 2005–23 Authors: Betsy Q. Cliff bqcliff@uchicago.edu and Giacomo Meille

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.01325?utm_campaign=july+2026+issue&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Urjj3j5NShfemaiwCg0_AgkXA7qUgR57BHRd10e_iPxvd3eCL-KnRaNQGdSFjUiNS6z1qCbLJH8xgpgOovrDCqk5-8g&_hsmi=431087453&utm_source=well+read From 2005 to 2023, per capita health care spending was highest and grew most rapidly among Americans in the top income quintile. During this period, age- and health-adjusted real spending grew 1.8 percent per year among people in the highest income quintile compared with no growth among people in the lowest income quintile. Differences among income levels were most prominent in outpatient services and prescription drugs.