Healthcare spending in 2003

Consumer healthcare spending showed little change in 2003, rising 2.8 percent on average, following increases of 7.7 percent in 2002 and 5.6 percent in 2001.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among the components of healthcare expenditures, spending on health insurance continued to increase significantly, with a 7.2-percent rise in 2003 following increases of 10.1 percent in 2002 and 7.9 percent in 2001.

The increase in health insurance spending in 2003 was offset somewhat by a 4.2-percent drop in spending on drugs. The decrease in spending on drugs in 2003 followed several years of relatively large increases: 8.6 percent in 2002, 7.8 percent in 2001, and 12.6 percent in 2000.

Spending on the other two components of healthcare—medical services and medical supplies—increased slightly in 2003, by 0.2 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

These data come from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Find out more in "Consumer Expenditures in 2003," (PDF 129K), BLS Report 986.