TABLE 2—

Range Estimates of Wasteful US Medical Care Spending by Category of Waste and Corresponding Analogous Expenditures, 2019

Category of Waste	2019 Range of Estimates (US$ Billions)	Median Estimate (US$ Billions)	Median Estimate (US$ Per Capita)	Examples of Opportunity Cost of Wastea
Clinical inefficiencies	27–378	202	609	Triple the annual National Institutes of Health Research Budget ($117.6 billion) and annual US biopharmaceutical sector research and development ($71.4 billion)1
Missed prevention opportunities	29–590	310	934	Total annual direct and indirect costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States ($245 billion)13 and annual estimated costs of the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act ($50 billion)
Overuse	66–835	451	1359	Annual estimated costs associated with switching to 100% renewable energy in the United States ($423.9 billion)14
Administrative waste	117–461	281	847	Repeal of the estate tax ($64 billion) and a 10% tax reduction to households earning less than $200 000 ($174 billion)
Excessive prices	96–241	169	509	Universal child care ($42 billion), paid family leave ($28 billion), and double the budget of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ($68 billion)
Fraud and abuse	59–312	185	557	Free annual tuition across all public US colleges and universities ($79 billion) and free annual universal pre-K ($26 billion)

Note. All amounts shown in table are in constant 2019 dollars, adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index medical price index growth rate.

^aWhat median estimate amount could cover if addressed and reinvested.