Hospital care expenditure in the United States has grown dramatically over the past six decades, reaching a staggering 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. This figure represents a significant portion of the nation's total health care spending, highlighting the crucial role hospitals play in the American healthcare system. Despite the increasing expenditure, the number of hospitals and hospital beds in the country has been declining. Declining hospital numbers While hospital care expenditure has surged, the number of hospitals in the United States has decreased steadily since 1975. In 2022, there were 6,120 hospitals in the country, down from 7,156 in 1975. This reduction in facilities has been accompanied by a parallel decrease in hospital beds, with only 916,752 beds available in 2022 compared to approximately 1.5 million in 1975. The decline in hospital infrastructure occurs despite a growing and aging population. Hospital care in national health expenditure Hospital care consistently accounts for the largest share of national health care expenditure in the United States. In 2023, 31.2 percent of the total 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars spent on health care was allocated to hospital care. This proportion far exceeds other categories of health care spending, such as physician and clinical services, which accounted for around 20 percent of total expenditure.