--- description: Americans now spend $9,523 per person a year on medical expenses title: Obamacare, Pricey New Drugs Send Up U.S. Health Spending image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7f009c215c0875b/6988739e2dce01223e9e6c1a/gettyimages-530685403.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Healthcare](/tag/healthcare/) ## Healthcare Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Obamacare, Pricey New Drugs Send Up U.S. Health Spending by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 4:08 AM CUT  Heart rate monitor, patient and doctors in background in intensive care unit Heart rate monitor, patient and doctors in background in intensive care unitSam Edwards—Caiaimage/Getty Images by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 3, 2015 4:08 AM CUT Obamacare and pricey new drugs for hepatitis, cancer and multiple sclerosis helped drive U.S. health spending to new highs, government researchers reported Wednesday. Health spending grew by 5.3 percent to $3 trillion in 2014, experts at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found. That’s the biggest growth in five years, but much of it was to be expected as[ 17 million people got coverage](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/obamacare-deadline/4-p-embargo-nearly-17-million-americans-covered-under-obamacare-n354851 "undefined") for health care for the first time in years. Americans now spend $9,523 per person a year on medical expenses – [by far the most](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/were-number-20-us-below-average-most-health-measures-2D11635080 "undefined") among developed countries. Every year, actuaries at CMS assess… [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/obamacare-pricey-new-drugs-send-us-health-spending-n473076?cid=par-time%5F20151203 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4134222/obamacare-us-health-spending-drugs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4134222/obamacare-us-health-spending-drugs/"},"headline":"Obamacare, Pricey New Drugs Send Up U.S. Health Spending","datePublished":"2015-12-03T04:08:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:04:10.015Z","description":"Americans now spend $9,523 per person a year on medical expenses","url":"https://time.com/4134222/obamacare-us-health-spending-drugs/","keywords":["Healthcare"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7f009c215c0875b/6988739e2dce01223e9e6c1a/gettyimages-530685403.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7f009c215c0875b/6988739e2dce01223e9e6c1a/gettyimages-530685403.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"530685403","caption":"530685403","creditText":"Sam Edwards—Caiaimage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/healthcare/","name":"Healthcare"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4134222/obamacare-us-health-spending-drugs/","name":"Obamacare, Pricey New Drugs Send Up U.S. Health Spending"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How $1,000 Could Help Your Health","description":"From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EILRa37f/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-22T16:19:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4134222/obamacare-us-health-spending-drugs/","duration":"PT2M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4134222/obamacare-us-health-spending-drugs/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```