If you’re like any normal, warm-blooded American, or at least one who subscribes to a health policy blog, you probably really like charts and graphs and numbers. Well, it turns out you’re in luck!

The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has just launched a new Health System Measurement Project website which tracks government data on various different health system indicators nationwide. It is intended to make it easier for regular folks like you and me to monitor and measure how the nation’s health care system is performing. The website includes trend data as well as more specific cuts broken out by demographics like age, sex, income level, and insurance coverage status.

It is a fantastically informative and a surprisingly fun tool to play with.  For example, did you know that in 2001, the mean total premium for employer-sponsored insurance for a family in New York was $7,090, but by 2010 it had more than doubled to $14,730? The same goes for single coverage.  In 2001 the mean cost for employer-sponsored insurance for a single person was $2,956.  By 2010, the cost had reached $5,220.

Um, health reform? Yes, please!

You can find this and a lot of other really great data by visiting the Health System Measurement Project at: https://healthmeasures.aspe.hhs.gov/

And, for the true nerds out there, you can also click here to read the HHS’s press release announcing the new website.