December 2007

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Census report: Insurance pays for most healthcare

Physician’s offices accounted for $330 billion in revenue in 2006, while the dental profession made up another $87 billion of the $1.6 trillion in revenue of the healthcare and social assistance sector, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. Insurance companies  paid $163 billion to physicians, while only $34 billion came directly from patients.

The report, “2006 Service Annual Survey: Healthcare and Social Assistance,” provides estimates such as revenue and sources of revenue for taxable and tax-exempt offices of physicians, hospitals, nursing-care facilities, and social-assistance services. It covers firms with paid employees.

Healthcare and social assistance grew 6 percent

All four subsectors of healthcare and social services gained revenue from 2005. Revenue in 2006 was $654 billion for hospitals; $647 billion for ambulatory healthcare services, which includes offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners, such as chiropractors and optometrists; $149 billion for nursing and residential care facilities; and $117 billion for social assistance, which includes child and youth services, services for the elderly and community food services.

Medicare makes up 22 percent of physicians’ revenue, and Medicaid another 5 percent.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, www.census.gov

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