US health expenditure per capita

As health expenditure per capita has grown, dog treat revenue has grown, a correlation of 0.975 that connects human healthcare costs to canine snacking costs with the cross-species precision of a chart that treats veterinary and medical spending as equivalent forms of care. The doctor bills go up, the treat purchases go up, and both trends measure a nation that is spending more to keep every member of the household—two-legged and four-legged—healthy and happy.

US health spending per capita jumped sharply in 2020 as covid care, testing, and hospitalizations loaded up the system, while at the same moment the pandemic pet boom sent dog-treat sales soaring. The correlation measures the two different medicines Americans were buying that year — one for the humans, one for the puppies.

Eighteen years of health spending and dog treats is a correlation between two forms of household care expenditure: one for the human, one for the dog, both growing because the same economy enables and encourages both. The premium is paid, the treat is given, and the household budget covers both without distinguishing between species.