January 14, 2015

New statistics tracking the changes in the prices to treat different diseases are slated to be available Thursday, Jan. 22 when the Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes a new health care satellite account report.

The statistics – the first of their kind – provide information about the changes in prices to treat different diseases – illustrating trends in prices over time. The statistics cover 2000-2010 and will be contained in a report published in the January Survey of Current Business. Another new set of annual statistics that track how much is spent to treat different diseases over that same 10-year period also will be released. These new statistics are derived from large medical claims databases that include millions of individuals and billions of claims.

BEA’s new detailed, health care statistics will provide businesses, households and policymakers with even more data to make informed decisions.

These new health care statistics emerge from a multiyear project to improve the way health care spending is measured throughout the U.S. economy. Health care spending is an important part of the U.S. economy, accounting for 17.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2013, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.