Health Costs
Limiting Private Insurance Reimbursement to Medicare Rates Would Reduce Health Spending by About $350 Billion in 2021
That would represent a 41 percent decrease from the $859 billion in projected health care spending for people with private insurance this year. The resulting savings would be spread among employers ($194 billion) and employees ($116 billion), and the non-group market ($42 billion), assuming proportional savings throughout the private insurance market.
Average Family Premiums Rose 4% to $21,342 in 2020, Benchmark Employer Survey Finds
This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, offer rates, wellness programs, and employer practices. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $21,342 this year, up 4% from last year, with workers on average paying $5,588 toward the cost of their coverage.
- 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.
- Health System Tracker
Price Transparency and Price Variation in U.S. Health Services
This 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.
- MARKETPLACES
Affordability in the ACA Marketplace Under a Proposal Like Joe Biden’s Health Plan
This KFF analysis finds that expanding ACA premium subsidies like Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has proposed would lower the cost of Marketplace coverage for nearly all potential enrollees, including the uninsured and others currently priced out of the Marketplace.
- 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
How Costly Are Common Health Services in the United States?
This chart collection examines what we know about the cost of common health services in the U.S. and shows that costs for many common health services have risen more rapidly than inflation.…More
- 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.
