Silver Book Fact
The annual out-of-pocket medical costs for chronic disease rose from and average of $427 per American in 1996 to $741 in 2005.
Paez K, Zhao L, Hwang W. Rising Out-Of-Pocket Spending For Chronic Conditions: A ten-year trend. Health Affairs. January 2009; 28(1): 15-25. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/28/1/15