The burden of health spending for working families

As healthcare inflation continues to outpace overall inflation, American families are spending more on care and bearing that cost unevenly. A recent analysis from the Center for Economic Policy and Research found that the typical working family spent about $3,960 to $14,800 on healthcare. Although healthcare spending rises with income in absolute dollars, reflecting factors such as family size, the relative cost burden tells a different story. Workers in lower-income families were more likely to spend more than 10 percent of their income on healthcare than those in the highest income quintiles, even as higher-income families spent more in total dollars.