How Much Does the Average American Pay for Healthcare?
The cost of healthcare has risen much faster than inflation alone can explain. Healthcare spending in 2007 came to $7,700 per person in the U.S., and by 2015 that number had risen 29% to $9,990 per person. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project that health spending will continue to increase at an average rate of 5.6% per year for the next 10 years. How can the average American afford to spend that much on healthcare?
Health insurance can literally be a lifesaver during a health crisis, granting patients access to treatments they could never afford to pay for out of pocket. Yet health insurance itself can be an immense financial burden, especially for those without access to employer-sponsored plans. For 2016, families who didn't receive an Affordable Care Act subsidy paid an average premium of $833 per month, or $9,996 per year. Given that the median household income for 2015 (the latest year for which census data is available) was $55,775, these families are paying an enormous percentage of their annual income in insurance premiums. Yet going without health insurance means running a huge risk of ending up with an unpayable medical bill.
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Source: Fool.com