This slideshow looks at how much the United States spends to treat specific diseases and tracks spending growth over time, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Health Care Satellite Account. The analysis shows that five disease categories — ill-defined, circulatory, musculoskeletal, respiratory, endocrine and nervous system conditions — account for roughly half of medical services spending in 2012. Among the highest-cost conditions, spending on ill-defined conditions — including check-ups, preventive care and treatment of colds and other minor conditions — grew the fastest between 2000 and 2012. The cost per case grew fastest for infectious diseases.

The slideshow is part of the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker, an online information hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system. More information about the analysis leading to the slideshow is available through the tracker.