The California Healthcare Foundation has an informative interactive graphic:
In 1960, almost 100% of the spending on prescription drugs came out of the consumers pocket; by 2010, out-of-pocket spending was down to 20%. Over the past 50 years, there have been major shifts in the way hospital care, physician services, long-term care, prescription drugs, and other services and products are paid for. This interactive graphic uses data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to show national spending trends from 1960 to 2010 for health care by payer.
See the graphic here: US Health Care Spending: Who Pays?.
For an explanation of why extreme third-party payment is bad, read “Insulation vs. Insurance” by Arnold Kling.
via FIRM
