U.S. Health Care Expenditure Across Income Groups by Age and Type of Care

Health care expenditure (HCE) does not significantly vary by income in the U.S. However, health outcomes vary significantly by income. To understand the disconnection, we used the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data and adjusted HCE for utilization and stratified it by income and age. We showed that the adjusted HCE is significantly higher among lower-income Americans, especially at older ages. At age 45-64, for example, the adjusted HCE for the poor, low-income, and high-income were $10,552; $7,118; and $5,300 in 2015 prices, respectively. We also found that children from lower-income families receive less nonurgent, preventive care than those from higher-income families. However, adults from lower-income families use much more urgent care than those from higher-income families. Our results, alongside the evidence of continuously widening gaps in mortality and morbidity rates among income groups, raise policy-relevant questions about the optimal age profile of health care provision, particularly among lower-income groups.