We noted before that approximately 54% of health care dollars are “private” and that about 46% of health care spending comes from public sources. How does that break down for different categories of health care spending?
2006 Personal Health Care Expenditures by Category and Source of Payment (in billions).
| Object of expenditure | Total | Private | Public | Percent Public |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | $1,762 | $964 | $798 | 45.2% |
| Hospital care | $648 | $286 | $363 | 56.0% |
| Physician and clinical services | $448 | $294 | $153 | 34.2% |
| Dental services | $91 | $86 | $5 | 5.5% |
| Other professional services | $59 | $30 | $19 | 32.2% |
| Home health care | $53 | $13 | $40 | 75.5% |
| Prescription drugs | $217 | $143 | $74 | 34% |
| Other nondurable medical products | $36 | $33 | $3 | 8.3% |
| Durable medical equipment | $24 | $16 | $8 | 33.3% |
| Nursing home care | $125 | $47 | $78 | 62.4% |
| Other personal health care | $62 | $6 | $56 | 90.3% |
Note: Figures above cover all expenditures for health services and supplies, except net cost of insurance and administration, public health activities, and administration for government and philanthropic agencies for fund-raising activities.