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Hospital Prices Have Risen Much Faster for Private Insurance Than Medicare Since 2019

Hospitals account for nearly one-third of US health spending and 40% of spending growth from 2022-2024. Analysis shows hospital prices paid by private insurers have risen faster than Medicare rates since 2019, a trend with implications for affordability.

Hospital prices paid by private insurers rose 30% from 2019-2026, compared to a 21% increase in Medicare payment rates. The disparate growth widened an existing gap between what Medicare and private plans pay for hospital services.

What Are the Recent Trends in Employer-Based Health Coverage?

Policy Changes Bring Renewed Focus on High-Deductible Health Plans

Health Insurer Financial Performance in 2024

Examining Short-Term Limited-Duration Health Plans

Health Care Affordability

BTD Health Policy in 2026

Health Policy in 2026

President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman forecasts eight things to look for in health policy in 2026. “First and foremost,” he writes, “is the role health care affordability will play in the midterms.” And, he notes: “The average cost of a family policy for employers could approach $30,000 and cost sharing and deductibles will rise again after plateauing for several years.”

View all of Drew’s Beyond the Data Columns

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  • Health-Care Deductibles Climbing Out of Reach 

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explores the trend of higher deductibles in health plans and discusses a new analysis showing that many people with insurance don’t have sufficient financial resources to pay a mid- or high-range deductible. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • Questions About Essential Health Benefits

    Perspective

    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently issued its long-awaited report on defining the essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As expected, the committee preparing the IOM report did not recommend which specific services should be covered, but rather discussed what the process should be for defining the essential benefits, which all insurers selling coverage to individuals and small businesses will have to provide beginning in 2014. Somewhat unexpected was their recommendation to set a…

  • Which Path for Health-Care Politics in 2015?

    From Drew Altman

    This was published as a Wall Street Journal Think Tank column on January 6, 2015. Yogi Berra said that when you come to a fork in the road, take it. It will be that kind of year for health-care politics. The status quo is not an option. The key to which path the Affordable Care Act takes is how the Supreme Court rules in King v. Burwell, the case that concerns whether subsidies in the health law can be…

  • Health Insurance Premiums Under the ACA vs. AHCA: County-Level Data

    News Release

    The Kaiser Family Foundation’s interactive map now allows users to compare what consumers in each county would pay in health insurance premiums after tax credits in 2020 under the Affordable Care Act vs. the House GOP replacement plan, the American Health Care Act. The maps include estimates by county for current ACA marketplace enrollees at age 27, 40, or 60 with an annual income of $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000, $75,000, or $100,000. In addition to…

  •  In Employer Health Insurance Costs, Stability Is The New Normal

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman looks at the sharply slower growth in premiums for employer health benefits and what it might mean for the future of employer-sponsored coverage. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • More Insurers Are Participating in the ACA Marketplaces in 2019

    News Release

    Insurer participation in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces is rising in 2019, finds a new analysis from KFF (the Kaiser Family Foundation).The increase follows consecutive years of improving insurance company profits and shows up in several different ways: Going into 2019, 608 counties nationwide are gaining at least one insurer in the marketplace, while only five counties will lose an insurer. In 2019, roughly 17 percent of enrollees (living in 37 percent of…

  • Health Insurer Financial Performance Through September 2020

    Issue Brief

    In this brief, we analyze third quarter data from 2018 to 2020 to examine how insurance markets performed financially through the end of September. Average margins remained relatively high compared to the same point in recent years, suggesting many insurers remained profitable even as non-COVID-related care returned in the summer and fall.

  • New Kaiser Survey of People with Non-Group Insurance Finds Nearly Six in 10 People Enrolled in Marketplace Plans Were Previously Uninsured

    News Release

    People in ACA-Compliant Plans Are Somewhat More Likely To Say They Are in Fair or Poor Health Than Those in Non-Compliant Plans People Who Switched Plans Due to Cancellation Notices or Other Reasons Are As Likely To Say Their Premiums Went Down As Went Up Overall About As Many People in This Market Feel They Benefited From the ACA As Feel Negatively Impacted, With Variations By Sub-Group The first in a series of new surveys…

  • JAMA Forum: Why Health Insurance Literacy Matters

    Perspective

    Larry Levitt's November 2014 post looks at the challenges with people not understanding basic health insurance concepts as millions of them evaluate and choose health plans during open enrollment season for insurance in 2015.