Health Costs

KEY RESOURCES

private Insurance
Health Insurer Financial Performance in 2020
This analysis examines insurers’ financial data across markets through the end of 2020. It finds that average margins remained relatively high compared to recent years, suggesting many insurers remained profitable even as health spending rebounded and COVID-19 cases surged in the fall and winter.
Health Costs
Ground Ambulance Rides and Potential for Surprise Billing
This analysis for the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker finds that half of emergency ground ambulance rides result in an out-of-network charge for people with private health insurance, potentially leaving patients at risk of getting a surprise bill.
Consumer Protection
Surprise Medical Bills: New Protections for Consumers Take Effect in 2022
This summarizes key provisions of the No Surprises Act, enacted in December 2020 to address the problem of unexpected medical bills, and issues that could arise during implementation ahead of its Jan. 1, 2022 effective date.
POLLING
Data Note: Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs
This data note compiles our recent polling on the public’s experiences with and worries about health care costs,.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)
COVID-19 is the Number One Cause of Death in the U.S. in Early 2021
Data on deaths from COVID-19 and other causes shows that COVID-19 is currently the number one cause of death in the United States as of Jan. 26.…More
interactive
National Health Spending Explorer
Explore up-to-date information on U.S. health spending by federal and local governments, private companies, and individuals.
PRICES
Price Transparency and Price Variation in U.S. Health Services
A new Peterson-KFF analysis examines the potential impact of new federal price transparency rules on patient decision-making and market pricing for health services. The brief also includes new analysis of geographic variation in health prices.
National Spending
How do Health Expenditures Vary Across the Population?
This analysis explores variations in health spending and finds that the 5% of Americans with the highest spending account for almost half of all spending.