Health Care Expenditures by Gender and Age

Source:  Health Affairs

Pronounced Gender And Age Differences Are Evident In Personal Health Care Spending Per Person

This paper examines differences in national health care spending by gender and age. Our research found significant variations in per person spending by gender across age groups, health services, and types of payers. For example, in 2004 per capita health care spending for females was 32 percent more than for males. Per capita differences were most pronounced among the working-age population, largely because of spending for maternity care. Except for children, total spending for and by females was greater than that for and by males, for most services and payers. The gender difference in total spending was most pronounced in the elderly, as a result of the longer life expectancy of women.

US Personal Health Care Spending, By Gender, Age, And Service, 2004

Service/age group (years)	Total spending (billions of dollars)		Per capita spending (dollars)
	Females	Males	Females	Males
All personal health care	$887.9	$662.0	$ 5,989	$ 4,541
0–18	99.5	108.8	2,620	2,736
19–64	464.9	345.5	5,202	3,797
65+	323.4	207.7	15,493	13,809

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