US Healthcare Sector NAICS 62
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Industry Summary
The 976,400 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.
Recent Developments
Jun 1, 2026 - Banks Targets Healthcare Providers Opening New Practices
- Several US banks have begun focusing on lending to medical practitioners seeking to open new practices, according to American Banker. US Bank has built a healthcare lending group with more than 100 dedicated bankers since hiring Joseph Persichetti in 2023. "You're starting to see more people decide … that they want to be an independent owner," said Persichetti, US Bank's head of healthcare business banking. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired healthcare fintech Provide in 2021 and has leveraged the purchase to increase lending to clinicians seeking to buy or establish a practice. TD Bank has seen its Healthcare Practice Solutions Group expand significantly since hiring Dan Croft to lead the unit in 2014, according to the bank. Practice–finance originations have totaled more than $3 billion since then, TD has said.
- States need more time to comply with new Medicaid requirements, according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities think tank. Many Medicaid expansion enrollees must document at least 80 hours per month of work or similar activities, meet an income threshold, or qualify for an exemption to keep coverage under the new requirements. States face a tight timeline to comply with complex eligibility, reporting, and verification processes before the requirements take effect on January 1, 2027. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that millions of people could lose coverage not because they fail to meet requirements, but because they struggle to navigate reporting systems or encounter administrative barriers. Without more time and clearer federal guidance, the report argues, states risk deploying aging or overburdened systems that are not fully ready.
- The share of Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance customers in plans that cost more than $6,000 a year doubled in 2026, according to the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Total 2026 ACA enrollment decreased about 5% to 23.1 million. That figure doesn’t yet count people who still may cancel plans because they can’t pay premiums, so the decrease is expected to deepen. Health care providers may be negatively impacted if plans are dropped due to affordability issues.
- Healthcare sector employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first three 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 2.37% year over year in March, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Industry Revenue
US Healthcare Sector
Industry Structure
Industry size & Structure
The healthcare sector is comprised of 976,000 establishments that employ 22.5 million workers and generate $3.3 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 16% of revenue. The 50 largest firms represent 24.5% 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 health and education services sectors shed 167,000 establishments in 2021, which equals about 8.2% of existing establishments, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the two sectors added about 250,000 new establishments, which is equivalent to 12.3% of existing establishments. As a result, the sectors had a growth rate of 4.1%.
- 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.
Industry Forecast
Industry Forecast
US Healthcare Sector Industry Growth
Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum
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