How much does the U.S. spend to treat
different diseases?
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
Circulatory and ill-defined, such as check-ups, are the
largest category of spending
Total expenditures in $ billions by disease category, 2012
Ill-defined conditions
$250
Circulatory
$243
Musculoskeletal
$188
Respiratory
$158
Endocrine
$139
Nervous system
$134
Cancers and tumors
$125
Injury and poisoning
$119
Genitourinary
$114
Digestive
$108
Other
$94
Mental illness
$80
Infectious diseases
$68
Dermatological
$45
Pregnancy and childbirth
$39
$-
$50
$100
$150
$200
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account)
Note: Expenditures on nursing home and dental care are not included in health services spending by disease.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
$250
$300
The top 5 disease categories account for roughly half of
spending
Total expenditures in US $ billions by disease category, 2012
Pregnancy, birth, $39
Dermatological, $45
Infectious diseases, $68
Mental Illness, $80
Digestive, $108
Other,
$94
Ill-defined
conditions, $250
Circulatory,
$243
Genitourinary, $114
Injury, $119
Musculoskeletal,
$188
Respiratory,
Cancers,
$158
$125 Nervous
system, Endocrine,
$134
$139
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account) and National Health Expenditure Data Note: Spending on dental
services, nursing homes, and prescriptions that cannot be allocated to a specific disease not included above. Data last updated October 6, 2015.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
Spending grew fastest for ill-defined conditions and
slowest for circulatory conditions from 2000-2012
Per capita expenditures in US $ by disease category, 2000 - 2012
$850
$795
$750
Circulatory
(high bp, heart attack, etc.)
$650
Ill-defined conditions
(check-ups, post-op, etc.)
$550
Musculoskeletal
(arthritis, back pain, etc.)
$450
$444
$350
Respiratory
(pneumonia, asthma, etc.)
Endocrine
(diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.)
$250
Nervous System
(Alzheimer's, MS, epilepsy, etc.)
$150
Cancers and tumors
$50
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account)
Note: Expenditures on nursing home and dental care are not included in health services spending by disease. Data last updated October 6, 2015.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
About a third of medical services cost growth was from
ill-defined, musculoskeletal, and circulatory conditions
Contribution to medical services expenditure growth, by disease, 2012
Ill-defined conditions
16.6%
Musculoskeletal
11.0%
Circulatory
8.7%
Endocrine
8.5%
Nervous system
7.4%
Respiratory
6.6%
Cancer
6.3%
Genitourinary
5.9%
Injury and poisoning
5.4%
Digestive
5.1%
Infectious diseases
4.4%
Mental illness
4.1%
Dermatological
2.3%
Pregnancy/childbirth
1.7%
Other
6.2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account)
Note: Expenditures on nursing home and dental care are not included in health services spending by disease. Data last updated October 6, 2015.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
18%
Among major disease categories, the cost per case grew
fastest for infectious diseases
Average annual growth in price index by disease category, 2000 - 2012
Infectious diseases
6.1%
Nervous system
5.3%
Ill-defined conditions
5.0%
Digestive
4.9%
Injury and poisoning
4.8%
Musculoskeletal
4.7%
Dermatological
4.7%
Cancers and tumors
4.6%
Average for all diseases
4.4%
Genitourinary
4.3%
Respiratory
4.2%
Pregnancy and childbirth
4.1%
Endocrine
3.6%
Mental illness
3.1%
Circulatory
2.7%
Other
7.2%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Analysis of Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account)
Note: Expenditures on nursing home and dental care are not included in health services spending by disease. Data last updated October 6, 2015.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
8%
The number of treated cases grew fastest for endocrine
disorders and ill-defined conditions
Average annual increase in real expenditures by disease category, 2000 - 2012
Ill-defined conditions
4.4%
Endocrine
4.4%
Infectious diseases
3.0%
Mental illness
2.9%
Musculoskeletal
2.8%
Average for all health
2.0%
Genitourinary
2.0%
Nervous system
1.5%
Cancers and tumors
1.4%
Dermatological
1.4%
Circulatory
1.0%
Pregnancy and childbirth
0.9%
Digestive
0.6%
Respiratory
0.4%
Injury and poisoning
0.3%
Other
2.0%
0%
1%
1%
2%
2%
3%
3%
4%
4%
5%
5%
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account) Note: Expenditures on
nursing home and dental care are not included in health services spending by disease. Data last updated October 6, 2015.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
The cost per case has grown faster than the number of
treated cases in most years since 2001
Percent change from previous year for price indexes and real expenditures on medical services by disease, 2001 - 2012
Cost per case
10%
Number of treated cases
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
3%
2%
2%
1%
0%
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account)
Note: Expenditures on nursing home and dental care are not included in health services spending by disease. Data last updated October 6, 2015.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
Increases in prices and service intensity have driven
most of spending growth
Percent change from previous year for price indexes and real expenditures on medical services by disease, 2001-2012
Number of
treated cases
Cost per case
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account) Note: Expenditures on
nursing home and dental care are not included in health services spending by disease.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker
Major disease categories have mostly seen better
outcomes along with higher spending
Percent change in age standardized disability adjusted life years (DALYs) rate per 100,000 population, both sexes, 2005-2010
Percent change in medical services by disease spending per capita, 2005-2010
Change in spending
Improvement in disease burden
35%
30%
26%
25%
24%
21%
20%
15%
14%
12%
10%
7%
5%
0%
All conditions
Circulatory diseases
Cancers and tumors
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010)
and 2005, and BEA Health Care Satellite Account (Blended Account) Notes: Expenditures on nursing home and dental care are not included in health
services spending by disease.
Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker