US Healthcare Sector

The 1 million healthcare sector establishments in the US provide medical care, health services, and living accommodations to patients and residents. Services are paid for by medical insurers, patients, government programs, and families. The sector includes physicians offices, hospitals and clinics, mental health services, medical and imaging labs, home healthcare services, and nursing and residential care facilities.

Managing Rising Costs

The costs - particularly labor costs - of providing healthcare have increased steadily and have generally outpaced inflation.

Maintaining Skilled Staffing

Healthcare providers struggle with shortages of nurses, medical technicians, pharmacists, and other clinical workers.

Oct 3, 2026 - Online Subscription Services Benefit As Health Insurance Coverage Slips

• Amazon.com, GoodRx, and other companies offering online subscriptions that charge a flat fee for prescription drugs and other health services are benefiting from increasing health insurance costs and decreasing health insurance options, according to Reuters news service. Health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs have increased due in part to higher prices for medical services, and millions of Americans have dropped individual plans offered under the Affordable Care Act in 2026. Costs for employers who sponsor most private insurance plans will increase up to 11% in 2027, benefits consultants told Reuters. The prescription plans cost from $5 per month at Amazon to $14.99 at GoodRx and include free access to select generic drugs. GoodRx's program also offers discounts on telehealth and common vision, dental and lab services.
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will end the Medicare Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration, a federal subsidy program that has helped keep prescription drug premiums lower, after the 2026 plan year. Ending the subsidy could result in higher costs for some seniors beginning in 2027. The Wall Street Journal, citing administration officials, reported that the program is providing an estimated $3.6 billion in subsidies this year. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said that premiums will rise by less than $10 for most Medicare beneficiaries, with many expected to see lower premiums, and said every beneficiary will continue to have access to low-cost plans while the administration pursues policies to reduce prescription drug prices, including expanding access to GLP-1 medications for $50 a month.
• Fewer than half of Americans (49%) can consistently afford the care and medications they need, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index. Health care providers may be negatively impacted by decreasing health care affordability. The share of adults who are “cost secure” has decreased from a 2022 peak of 61%, and an estimated 2.8 million more people fell out of that category between 2024 and 2025 alone. Cost insecurity now reaches groups long considered insulated: just 61% of adults 65 and older are cost secure, down from 73% in 2021.
• Healthcare sector employment increased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first seven months of 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Healthcare industry sales are forecast to grow at a 5.49% compounded annual rate from 2026 to 2030, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. The Producer Price Index for healthcare services increased 2.53% year over year in August, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industry size & Structure

The healthcare sector is comprised of 1 million establishments that employ 23.3 million workers and generate $3.9 trillion in annual revenue, according to government sources.

• The healthcare sector represents 7% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 11% of the country's workers.
• The sector is fragmented: the 20 largest firms represent 12% of revenue. The 50 largest firms represent 19% of revenue.
• In addition to employer establishments, the healthcare sector has nearly 1.3 million owner-operated establishments with no employees that generate $57.6 billion annually. Subsectors with the highest numbers of nonemployer establishments are home healthcare services (17.2%) and offices of physicians (10.7%). The owner of nonemployer establishments typically performs the work or uses contract labor.
• The healthcare sector is forecast to grow its employment base by 12.3% overall in 2021-2031, which is much higher than the national average of 5.3% for all jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Factors contributing to job gains in the healthcare sector include the expanding and aging population, and a greater volume of treatment and exams performed by physician assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) under the supervision of MDs.