Over the studied time period, low back and neck pain was the top area of expenditures for private insurance; diabetes and ischemic heart disease were the areas of highest expenditure for public programs. (Image: Shutterstock)

A new analysis published in JAMA finds that total health care spending in the U.S. grew by close to $2 trillion dollars between 1996 and 2016. The report estimates that total spending in health care grew from $1.4 trillion to $3.1 trillion during that time period.

The paper also found that health care spending increased at an annualized rate of 2.9 percent for public plans, 2.6 percent for private insurance, and 1.1 percent for out-of-pocket payments. Health care spending was estimated at $5,259 annually per person in the U.S. in 1996; it had grown to an annual cost of $9,655 per person 20 years later.

Related: What's driving growth in employer health care spending?