5% of U.S. Residents Use 50% of Medical Resources

In 2008 and 2009, health care costs of about five percent of the more than 301 million U.S. residents accounted for 50% of the $1.26 trillion in total health spending in 2009. The five percent had a mean annual expenditure of $35,829 in 2008. Among the individuals with health care expenditures in the top five percent in 2008, 38% were also in the top five in 2009.

The concentration of health care spending was reported in “The Concentration and Persistence in the Level of Health Expenditures over Time: Estimates for the U.S. Population . . .