After reaching nearly 20% of GDP during the pandemic, 2022 saw health care spending drop to 17.3% of GDP, in line with pre-pandemic levels. According to Hartman et al. (2023), health care spending in the US grew 4.1% to $4.5 trillion in 2022, a faster rate than 2021 but slower than the 10.6% in 2020. Medicaid and private health insurance spending saw significant growth in 2022, offsetting declines in federal spending due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The insured share of the population reached a historic high of 92.0% in 2022. The healthcare sector accounted for 17.3% of the economy in 2022, down from 19.5% in 2020 but closer to the average of 17.5% during 2016–19.
![](https://www.healthcare-economist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/nhe_gdp.png)
Pharmaceutical spending as a share of total health care spending has remained around 9% for the past 7 years.
![](https://www.healthcare-economist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Rx.png)
For more detailed statistics, read the full article here.