Family-Level Expenditures on Health Care and Insurance Premiums among the U.S. Nonelderly Population, 2004. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Research Findings No. 26

摘要

This report uses nationally representative estimates from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to examine family-level expenditures on health care services and health insurance premiums. The sample for the study represents all civilian non-institutionalized nonelderly families in the U.S. in 2004. We find that total expenditures on health care services were highest among families with public coverage and lowest among uninsured families. Mean total expenditures were $7,562 among families with public insurance, $6,430 among families with private insurance, and $1,208 among uninsured families. Out-of-pocket expenditures on health care services were highest among families with private coverage and lowest among uninsured families. Mean out-of-pocket expenditures were $1,223 among families with private insurance, $916 among families with public insurance, and $584 among uninsured families. Expenditures on health care services are also presented by family size and insurance status, separately for one-person families, two-person families, and families with three or more persons. For families with two or more persons, the report presents expenditures by family structure, based on the number of adults and children in the family. In 2004, mean out-of-pocket expenditures for health insurance premiums among one-person families with private coverage all year were $862. Mean out-of-pocket expenditures for premiums among two-person families with private coverage all year were $2,277. The difference between mean out-of-pocket expenditures for premiums among families with three or more persons with private coverage all year ($2,336) and for premiums among two-person families with private coverage all year was not statistically significant.