Even though health-care spending has slowed substantially since the recession, it's still taking up an increasing slice of workers' paychecks and employers' expenses. For workers, dollars that go to medical care don't go to buying new cars or family vacations. For employers, the costs may limit hiring or investing in new equipment. The chart below shows health-care spending by employers and households, relative to wages, over the past quarter century. It includes contributions to insurance plans, Medicare taxes, and out-of-pocket costs. All the values are indexed to 100 to show how they've changed in relation to each other.
