Here's a way to think about the success of Obamacare in slowing healthcare inflation. It's been about eight years and eight months since Obamacare was signed into law. We can compute healthcare inflation for 660 eras of that length leading up to the passage of Obamacare. Among the 660 eras, the lowest healthcare inflation was 30%, the highest was 137%, the average was 64%, and the median was 53%.
So, how has the last eight years and eight months looked in that context? Well, it turns out, healthcare inflation has been 26% -- significantly below the prior record-low for a period of that length. The savings from that low rate of healthcare cost growth is substantial. For example, we spend about $10,224 per capita on healthcare today. If, since Obamacare passed, healthcare costs had risen in accordance with an average rate of inflation rather than the record low rate we've had, it would be $12,898. So, for a family of four, you could think of the difference as a $10,696 of additional healthcare costs, just for a single year. And that figure gets bigger every year that our healthcare spending growth remains below average.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIMEDSL
So, how has the last eight years and eight months looked in that context? Well, it turns out, healthcare inflation has been 26% -- significantly below the prior record-low for a period of that length. The savings from that low rate of healthcare cost growth is substantial. For example, we spend about $10,224 per capita on healthcare today. If, since Obamacare passed, healthcare costs had risen in accordance with an average rate of inflation rather than the record low rate we've had, it would be $12,898. So, for a family of four, you could think of the difference as a $10,696 of additional healthcare costs, just for a single year. And that figure gets bigger every year that our healthcare spending growth remains below average.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIMEDSL