While surfing for information on drug spending, I landed on the AHIA website; i.e., America’s Health Insurance Plans, the national trade association for health insurance companies.

Publicly traded health insurers are seemingly always under attack for allegedly padding stockholder returns at the expense of members’ care. Not surprisingly therefore, AHIA indirectly addresses this issue with some insightful statistics.

To wit, which of these four general categories tops the list of health care spending; 1. In-Patient Hospital, 2. Out-Patient & ER Costs, 3. Doctor Visits/Labs/Ambulatory Surgery/Other Outpatient Care or, 4. Prescription Drugs?

And the ‘winner?’

Prescription Drugs; accounting for 24.2 cents of every premium dollar, followed by Out-Patient & ER at 23.1 cents, then Doctor Visits Et al. at 18.7 cents and last, In-Patient Hospital at 17.6 cents.

The biggest surprise for me is that we’re now spending more on prescription drugs than In or Out-Patient care and, that combined spending on drugs and Out-Patient Care dwarfs In-Patient Hospital spending. (No let-up in construction, though. H-m-m-m-m.)

Still with me? 

That leaves ‘only’ 16.4 cents of every premium dollar for administrative costs, fees, taxes, reserving, and profits (2.4 cents).

AHIA charts and detail HERE.