Cost of Health Care
Proportional health care expenditures fell 0.7% in 2022 but remain an ongoing challenge.
No significant movement since the last available data
Benchmark: Maine’s health care spending as a percentage of total personal expenditures will decline to the New England average by 2030.
Overview
Our measure of health care costs tracks the percentage of total personal expenditures that are devoted to health care. Maine people and businesses consistently identify the high cost of health care as a major concern.
In 2022, health care spending in Maine stood at 16.5% of all personal expenditures, down from its peak of 19.0% in 2019. While health care expenditures in Maine are higher than the U.S. and New England rates, they are trending downward. They fell sharply in 2020, largely due to the decline of noncritical services during COVID. Still, in Maine and across the nation, about 1 in 6 dollars generated in the economy goes to medical expenses.
In 2022, the median contribution for family health insurance coverage of a Maine employee was $5,800. By this measure, Maine ranked 14th highest of the 50 states. For employers, the median contribution was $16,000— 17th highest. These estimates come from a relatively small survey and should be interpreted with caution.
Fig. A
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Health Care Expenditures as Percentage of Total Personal Expenditures
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Fig. B
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Median Contribution for Family Coverage, 2022
USDHHS, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality