Public vastly overestimates primary care spending, study finds

A new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine revealed that most Americans vastly overestimate how much the country spends on primary care. Researchers found that, on average, people believe 51.8% of U.S. health care dollars go toward primary care, when the figure is actually just 4.7%.

“On average, respondents overestimated spending by more than 10-fold compared with current estimates of actual primary care spending,” the study authors wrote. “These results highlight the stark disparity between current levels of primary care importance, utility, and expenditure.”

The study, conducted using SurveyMonkey (Symphony Technology Group), surveyed 1,135 adults across the U.S., asking them to estimate both the proportion of total health care spending dedicated to primary care and the percentage of health needs addressed by primary care. Respondents estimated that primary care meets about 59% of health care needs — an assessment that aligns closely with actual usage rates (50.3%).

A reality check

This significant misperception of primary care spending comes as many physicians and industry leaders call for greater financial support for primary physicians. Underinvestment in primary care has led to workforce shortages, physician burnout, reduced patient access to care, and suboptimal care in general.

“…In contrast to the public’s high regard for primary care and commensurate expectations of primary care expenditure, primary care access, utilization, and spending have been decreasing nationally,” the authors wrote. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Implementing High-Quality Primary Care described primary care as a “common good” and recommended increasing funding to strengthen the system.

Some states have introduced measures to boost primary care investment, but national spending trends remain stagnant. The authors of the study suggest that bridging the gap between patient perception and reality could be key to securing more financial support for primary care.

However, if the public believes primary care is already sufficiently funded, there may be little push for policy change. Greater public awareness and engagement in health care funding discussions could help drive reforms to ensure primary care gets the support it needs.