Americans spent nearly twice as much money on treatment for back pain, in 2007 compared with 1997, or $30.3 billion compared with $16 billion, according to a report from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Back Problems: Use and Expenditures for the U.S. Adult Population, 2007)
The money spent was on an increasing share of office visits to see physicians, physical therapists, chiropractors in ambulatory settings, and on medication—74%, compared with 65% spent on those care expenses in 1997. The remainder in both years was spent on hospital care, including emergency room visits, and on home health services.
In 2007, back pain sufferers and their payers spent $18 billion on office visits and $4.5 billion on drugs, compared with $9.3 billion spent on office-based treatments and $1.2 billion on medications in 1997.
The data from the federal Medical Expenditure Panel Survey takes a detailed look at how healthcare dollars are spent, the cost of certain medical services and treatments and the frequency with which Americans access care.
For back pain treatment in 2007, 45% of the total expenditures were paid by private insurance, but Medicare paid 23% and out-of-pocket payments amounted to 16.8%. For prescription medications to treat back pain, almost half, or 48.4% was paid by private insurance, followed by Medicare paying 23.6%.
The survey revealed that 27 million Americans, 12% of those age 17 or older, reported having back pain symptoms, which can be intense and short-lived or debilitating and persistent—only 19 million sought treatments.
Additionally, those seeking back pain care were more likely to be women, 10.9 million, compared with 8.2 million who were men.
The average expenditures for back problems were $1,589 per adult in 2007, of which $1,146 was for ambulatory care and $446 went to purchase prescription drugs, the survey showed. Back pain sufferers paid about 17% out-of-pocket on back pain care expenses while private health insurance paid 45%, Medicare paid 23% and other sources, including workmen?s compensation, paid 15%.