Virginia Hospital Spending Below National Average, Single and Family Health Insurance Costs Continue Sharp Rise

January 29, 2025

New Report from Onpoint Health Data that Examines Virginia Health Care Spending Trends Shows Private Insurance Premiums Rose 20.2 Percent for Individuals, 22.1 Percent for Families from 2019-2023 Even as Personal Health Care Spending Grew Just 1.2 Percent During that Time

RICHMOND, VA – Virginia families and individuals have endured double-digit percentage increases in health insurance premium costs in recent years, according to a new statewide analysis of health care spending trends conducted by Onpoint Health Data, a non-partisan analytics firm.

The analysis shows that from 2019-2023, annual private health insurance premiums in Virginia increased 20.2 percent for single individuals and 22.1 percent for families. During the same period, total personal health care (PHC) spending (which includes hospital and professional care) increased by just 1.2 percent.

The study further notes that since 2008 single premiums are up 94 percent and family premiums have risen 103 percent. When annual out-of-pocket deductible costs are added to premium costs, total insurance costs for individuals and families have gone up 103 percent and 110 percent, respectively.

The Onpoint Health Data analysis shows that the average single health insurance premium in 2023 was $8,144 and the average family health insurance premium was $24,251 for people with private sector employer-sponsored health care coverage. Findings in the study are based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Virginia All-Payer Claims Database (APCD). The report evaluates total health care spending, spending by category and payer, insurance premiums, and workforce trends.

In contrast to rising insurance premiums, the study reports that “between 2022 and 2023, average per capita health spending dropped both nationally (from $13,200 to $11,741) and in Virginia (from $11,400 to $10,625), with Virginia’s average per capita health spending in 2023 remaining well below the national average.”

Specifically, the report notes that Virginians on average spent 12.2 percent less on hospitalization compared to the national average, less on prescription drugs, and less “on the combined category of nursing home care, home health care, and other health, residential, and personal care.”

The Onpoint Health Data study also documents the significance of health care jobs as a share of overall Virginia employment, finding that in the fourth quarter of 2023 “407,460 individuals were employed by the health care sector in Virginia, accounting for 9 percent of the total private-sector employed population.” This represented a 4.7 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2022 and “was well above the pre-pandemic peak of 381,000 workers.”

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 111 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Julian Walker
Vice President of Communications
(804) 297-3193 office
(804) 304-7402 mobile
jtwalker@vhha.com