New Jerseyans are getting crushed by the growing burden of unchecked healthcare spending. Per capita personal health spending has grown by 4.9% on average each year from 1991 to 2020, significantly surpassing average per capita annual personal income growth in the same period (3.59%). This contributes to 85 percent of New Jerseyans being worried about affording healthcare in the future. 

Hospital spending is the largest component of New Jersey’s health spending and the fastest growing – far outpacing inflation and spending on other medical services like prescription drugs, nursing, and physicians, clinics and other professionals. This is due to high and rising hospital prices, rather than utilization, caused largely by increases in hospital system market power.