Healthcare Costs by Age - What Americans Spend at Every Life Stage

Updated September 24, 2026. Figures are from CMS National Health Expenditure data and Medicare.gov, checked on that date.

Health spending climbs steadily with age. The figures below are total personal health care spending per person from all payers (private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and out of pocket), not what a person pays themselves. CMS's most recent age breakdown is for 2020.

Spending per person by age (CMS, 2020)

A few patterns stand out in the CMS highlights for 2020:

• Adults 65 and older were 17% of the population but 37% of personal health care spending. Children were 23% of the population and 10% of spending.
• Spending per person for adults over 85 was more than 8.5 times that for children.
• Among adults 19 to 44, per person spending on women was higher than on men, which CMS links largely to maternity care.
• At 85 and older, nursing care facilities become the largest single category.

For context, total national health expenditure reached $5.3 trillion in 2024, or $15,474 per person, and out-of-pocket spending was $556.6 billion, or 11% of the total, according to CMS.

How insurance costs change with age

• Under 65 on the marketplace: HealthCare.gov says premiums can be up to 3 times higher for older people than for younger ones. Tobacco users can be charged up to 50% more.
• 65 and older on Medicare (2026): the standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month, the Part B deductible is $283, and the Part A hospital deductible is $1,736 per benefit period, per Medicare.gov.

How to plan for health costs at each stage

1. Children and young adults: use preventive care that plans cover in network without cost-sharing, and know where urgent care is so a minor problem does not become an emergency room visit.
2. Planning a pregnancy (often 19 to 44): check that your plan covers maternity care as an essential health benefit and learn your deductible before delivery. See our pregnancy cost guide.
3. Ages 45 to 64: hospital care and prescriptions grow fastest. Compare cash and insured prices for scheduled procedures, and start colorectal cancer screening at 45. See our colonoscopy cost guide.
4. Before 65: marketplace premiums rise with age, so compare plan tiers each open enrollment, and consider a health savings account if you have an eligible high-deductible plan. Our HSA/FSA optimizer can help.
5. 65 and older: budget for Medicare premiums and deductibles, and plan early for long-term care, which dominates spending after 85.

Sources

• CMS, National Health Expenditure Data: Age and Sex (per capita CSV files and 2020 highlights). Checked September 24, 2026.
• CMS, NHE Fact Sheet (2024 data). Checked September 24, 2026.
• HealthCare.gov, How insurance companies set health premiums. Checked September 24, 2026.
• Medicare.gov, Medicare costs (2026 amounts). Checked September 24, 2026.