HCCI Releases 2018 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report 

Per-Person Health Care Spending Grew 18% from 2014 to 2018, Driven Mostly by Prices

The report examines four groups of health care services and dozens of sub-categories. Of the four major categories, outpatient visits and procedures saw the highest 2018 spending increase (5.5%). Other notable trends include:

• Inpatient services. 
  • ​Per-person spending on inpatient admissions rose 11.4% between 2014 and 2018
  • Within each sub-category of inpatient admissions, average prices grew steadily between 2014 and 2018 while utilization trends varied. However, the 2.0% price increase in 2018 was lower than the near 4% annual increases from 2014 to 2017.
• Outpatient services.​
  • ​Increases in prices and use led to a 16% increase in spending from 2014 to 2018.
  • ver that period, ER visit spending increased 32% and spending on observation stays went up 29%.
• Professional services.​
  • ​Spending increased 16% and growth accelerated over the 5-year period, driven by office visits and administered drugs.
  • Psychiatry also saw strikingly high spending growth of 43% from 2014 to 2018, which was driven mostly by increased use.
• Prescription Drugs.​
  • ​Generic drugs accounted for 88% of all prescriptions. .
  • Out-of-pocket payments for prescriptions for generic drugs was less than one-fifth of out-of-pocket payments on brand drugs.

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