Consumers are spending $363 billion more on healthcare – 14.7 percent more -- than has been reported in official government accounts, according to a new report by Deloitte.
The study took into account additional healthcare costs that go beyond the cost of doctors, prescriptions, hospitals and health insurance coverage, Deloitte's researchers said. Government reports show consumer healthcare spending at 16.2 percent. The Deloitte study found it to be 19.9 percent, surpassing consumer housing and utility costs at 18.8 percent.
"The Hidden Costs of U.S. healthcare for Consumers: A Comprehensive Analysis" was based on a telephone survey of 1,008 adults last fall and was conducted by Deloitte's Center for Health Solutions and Center for Financial Services to gauge what consumers really spend out of their own pockets on healthcare products and services beyond what is typically paid by insurers and other government sources, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
More than half of the spending (55 percent) in the ancillary areas Deloitte surveyed was for the estimated value of supervisory care, or care given by unpaid relatives and friends. Supplemental expenditures included complementary and alternative medicine practitioners (8 percent) and products (1 percent); functional foods and other nutritional products; vitamin and mineral supplements (15 percent); health publications (1 percent); ambulance services (3 percent); other ambulatory care, such as blood banks; some health promotion programs (6 percent); mental health services (8 percent); homes for the elderly (4 percent) and weight loss facilities (1 percent).
"It has been one year since the passage of healthcare reform, and our report sheds new light on the hidden costs of healthcare, and how these costs can add up significantly to billions of dollars and can even eclipse housing as a household expense," said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. "Our study explores the financial context for the decisions consumers – not simply patients – make about how they spend their money on healthcare, which will only increase in importance as healthcare reform continues to take hold."
"This reveals a tremendous burden on the average consumer," said Andrew Freeman, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.
According to the study, U.S. per capita expenditures totalled $9,217 in 2009, with professional services (29 percent) and hospital care (27 percent) the largest spending categories.
The estimated value of supervisory care ($199 billion) is significantly higher than total spending on nursing homes ($144 billion) and total spending on home healthcare ($72 billion), and was only somewhat less than prescription drug expenditures ($246 billion), Deloitte researchers found.
About 70 percent of spending on nutrition industry items was directed toward functional foods, a category that includes such items as enriched cereals, breads, sports drinks, bars, fortified snack foods, baby foods and prepared meals, the study showed.
Seniors accounted for 36 percent ($1.01 trillion) of total healthcare expenditures, but comprise only 13 percent of the population, according to Deloitte.
The study also found that nearly 83 percent of the $2.83 trillion in 2009 U.S. health expenditures was attributed to those with family incomes of $100,000 or less, who make up 89 percent of the total population.
Eighty percent of adults surveyed said they would use generic medicines, while 70 percent said they would seek free advice from a pharmacist or other medical professional and 61 percent said they would use technology if it would save money for healthcare.
Approximately 43 percent would visit a retail clinic, and 20 percent would visit another country for more affordable medical care, the study found.
Deloitte also found 26 percent would skip a medical test or screening or a visit to the dentist or doctor to save money on healthcare, while 22 percent would skip refilling a prescription.
The entire new Deloitte study can be found here.
[See related stories: Cost concerns keep Americans from seeking medical care; Recession blamed for low growth rate in health spending].