Where are Healthcare Dollars Really Spent?

There are many misconceptions as to where healthcare dollars are actually spent. Check out the stats below:

1. 12%, not 60%, of healthcare dollars are related to the pharmaceutical industry.
2. 3% of healthcare spending is spent on the medical device industry.
3. 60-70% of healthcare spending is focused on the last 1-2 years of life.
4. An estimated 27% of Medicare’s annual $327 billion budget goes to care for patients in their final year of life.
5. The Milken Institute estimated that better wellness and prevention behavior will lead to 40 million fewer cases of illness and gain over $1 trillion annual in labor supply and efficiency by 2023.” — a 27% reduction in total economic impact.
6. 70% of deaths and nearly 80% of healthcare costs stem from the same preventable chronic conditions.
7. Lifestyle changes reduced total healthcare costs in chronic disease patients, such as coronary heart disease, by 50% after year one and an additional 20-30% in years two and three.

Read more of these and other healthcare spending statistics.

So, what does this mean? Well, two things actually:

1. People need to be better educated on where their healthcare dollars are spent.
2. Healthcare needs to be focused on wellness and lifestyle behavior changes (not just prevention) throughout a person’s life versus the last few years of a person’s life.