A Comparative Analysis Study That Determines to What Degree Government and Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Programs in The United States Provide Financial Benefit for those Accessing Healthcare

Abstract : This study examined government and employer-sponsored health insurance in the United States to determine if the financial benefits of health insurance outweigh economic costs. Utilizing data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), and other scholarly sources, the analysis revealed that approximately 80% to 90% of non-chronically ill insured individuals do not meet their annual deductible and may not receive financial benefit from health insurance. Why do so few financially benefit? Healthcare expenditures accumulated by the top 5% utilizers made up of mostly older age groups and those with chronic conditions accounted for 52.9% of the total spending. In other words, the top 5% utilizers of healthcare in the United States spent more on healthcare than the remaining 95% of the US population.