Primary Care Services Account for Only a Small Fraction of Total Healthcare Spending

Previous research has shown that greater access to and investment in primary care services are associated with higher healthcare system quality and lower costs. However, the U.S. has not invested substantially in primary care. In this study, researchers quantified U.S. primary care spending by using data from 16 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in 2015.

“Primary care” was defined both narrowly and broadly for both practitioners and services. The narrow definition of providers included physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and general practice; the broad definition included nurse practitioners, physician assistants, geriatricians, and gynecologists. The narrow definition of services included only evaluati…