Analysis of Healthcare spend in the US

The US department of Health has released interesting stats on the healthcare spend across various dimensions. The report is a bit old and available at http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/costs/expriach/

Some eye-opening snippets from the report are copied here -

1. Five percent of the population accounts for almost half (49 percent) of total health care expenses.
2. The top 5 chronic diseases are - Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart Disease, Asthma and Mood Disorders. Treatment for these diseases account for almost 50% of the total healthcare spend.
3. 5% of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries accounted for 43 percent of total spending, with 25 percent accounting for 85 percent of all spending.
4. The elderly and disabled, who constituted around 25 percent of the Medicaid population, accounted for about 70 percent of Medicaid spending.
5. The five most expensive health conditions were heart disease, cancer, trauma, mental disorders, and pulmonary conditions