The cost of health care in the US continues to rise at a rate far faster than inflation. The average cost of health care for a family of four is now $35,119, according to the 2025 Milliman Medical Index, reports Alan Goforth for BenefitsPro. Costs include health insurance premiums as well as other out-of-pocket costs.
Average health care costs for a family are up 6.7 percent, reports the Milliman Medical Index. In 2024, the average cost for a family of four was $33,067. Drug costs and outpatient costs are the biggest drivers of the increase in the cost of health care.
Drug costs are up 9.7 percent, driven to some extent by new costly drugs and GLP-1 (weight-loss) drugs. And, outpatient facility costs are up 8.5 percent., The majority of outpatient facility costs are linked to rising drug costs administered at these facilities, including cancer treatments. These two treatments represent almost 70 percent of the rise in health care costs.
Today, employers contribute about 58 percent of a family’s total health care costs, down from 61 percent. Workers pay about 27 percent of the cost of their health care today. Twenty years ago they paid 21 percent. But, worker spending on out-of-pocket health care costs is down to 15 percent from 18 percent.
American families are now paying three times more in health care costs than they did 2o years ago. Outpatient hospital costs have grown the most in these 20 years, up 286 percent.
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