OBJECTIVES: The research was conducted to estimate the annual expenditures, healthcare utilization, and change in health status for patients who sought health care services for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on the nationally representative sample from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). METHODS: Adult respondents were sampled from the years 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. Patients with RA were identified and compared to those without RA. Annual total expenditures and utilization were recorded for the inpatient setting, office-based setting, pharmacy, and emergency department. Data were compared to the self-reported health status from short-form 12 for patients each year. Sociodemographic factors were adjusted for, and a generalized linear model was developed to identify factors associated with RA expenditure. The quantity of biologics used and expenditures associated since their initial release in 1998 were estimated. RESULTS: The adjusted average total expenditure of the RA population over the five sampled years in 2014 US dollars was $9363.40 compared to $7179.30 in the non-RA sample (p<0.0001). Pharmacy accounted for an average expenditure of $4181.1 in RA patients and $2291.2.14 in non-RA patients (p<0.0001). The average total utilization of the RA population over the five sample years was 54.21 in RA patients and 39.86 in non-RA patients (p<0.0001). The mean physical health summary score for was significantly lower for RA patients (31.52) compared to non-RA patients (39.26) (p<0.0001). The number of biologics dispensed for RA treatment increased from 0 per patient in 1998 to 0.35 per patient in 2014. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having lower physical and mental health scores, RA-related expenditure represents a considerable economic burden on the US health care system. Pharmacy is the primary area of expenditure.