# How I learned to love US healthcare data

> US healthcare costs reveal $13,265 per person in 2024 with uninsured spending hidden in asterisks.
- Title: How I learned to love US healthcare data · USAFacts | Shortify
- Summary: US healthcare costs reveal $13,265 per person in 2024 with uninsured spending hidden in asterisks. US healthcare spending reached $13,265 per person in 2024…
- Keywords: us healthcare, healthcare costs, medicare, medicaid, uninsured, medical debt, healthcare spending, nhea, meps, federal spending, news, politics
- Source: USAFacts — https://usafacts.org/articles/analyst-notes/healthcare-costs
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: us healthcare, healthcare costs, medicare, medicaid, uninsured, medical debt, healthcare spending, nhea, meps, federal spending, news, politics
## Why healthcare costs?
Healthcare costs dominated policy debates in 2025 including Medicaid funding and ACA subsidy expiration.
## 2024 healthcare spending
US healthcare spending reached $13,265 per person in 2024, nearly 10 times higher than 1960 after inflation adjustment.
## Uninsured population
14.3% of young adults ages 19 to 25 were uninsured in 2024.
## Data sources
The National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA) tracks healthcare spending since 1960 but can't separate out-of-pocket costs by insurance type.
## MEPS data
The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) provides out-of-pocket costs by insurance type and uninsured spending data.
## Uninsured costs
15 million americans had medical debt over $500 in 2023 according to consumer financial protection bureau.
## Medical debt
Hospitals reported $39.3 billion in charity care and bad debt for underpaid care in FY 2021.
## Uninsured spending
Federal government spending on uninsured healthcare costs is at least $1 billion but likely tens of billions.
## Data gaps
Healthcare costs for the uninsured remain unquantified due to data limitations and underreporting.
## Conclusion
US healthcare spending for the uninsured is underestimated but critical to address through better data collection.
## Key takeaway

US healthcare spending reached $13,265 per person in 2024, but costs for the uninsured remain unquantified due to data gaps.