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Tracking the U.S. health sector: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Corwin Rhyan

    (Altarum Institute)

  • Ani Turner

    (Altarum Institute)

  • George Miller

    (Altarum Institute)

Abstract

Health spending has grown faster than the U.S. economy for decades and currently represents approximately 18% of gross domestic product. As with other sectors of the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on this growth of the health sector and the labor force that supports it. This paper examines that impact, describing how health care spending, employment, and prices have evolved since the start of the pandemic, using data from the authors’ Health Sector Economic Indicators (HSEI) series. After unprecedented drops in March and April of 2020, both spending and employment have gradually recovered but, by the end of the summer, remained below their pre-COVID levels. Prices, on the other hand, have continued to rise. The paper compares these patterns with those observed in earlier recessions and describes some likely reasons for them.

Suggested Citation

  • Corwin Rhyan & Ani Turner & George Miller, 2020. "Tracking the U.S. health sector: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 267-278, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:buseco:v:55:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1057_s11369-020-00195-z
    DOI: 10.1057/s11369-020-00195-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Papanicolas, Irene & Woskie, Liana R. & Jha, Ashish K., 2018. "Health care spending in the United States and other high-income countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 87362, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Micah Hartman & Robert Kornfeld & Aaron Catlin, 2010. "Health Care Expenditures in the National Health Expenditures Accounts and in Gross Domestic Product: A Reconciliation," BEA Working Papers 0060, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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    Cited by:

    1. Manuel Hermosilla & Jian Ni & Haizhong Wang & Jin Zhang, 2023. "Leveraging the E-commerce footprint for the surveillance of healthcare utilization," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 604-625, December.

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