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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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  • Why Low Growth in Health Costs Still Stings

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman shows how rising deductibles have eclipsed growth in wages and discusses why that may be the main reason people think costs have been continuing to rise rapidly when instead, growth has slowed. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.   

  • New Analysis Finds US Individual Insurance Market Grew 46 Percent in First Full Year of Affordable Care Act

    News Release

    A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that the nation's individual insurance market grew 46 percent to 15.5 million people in the first year plans could be purchased through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, which offer premium assistance to low- and moderate-income people. Four states -- California, Florida, Texas and Georgia -- accounted for almost half of the enrollment growth. In six states, the number of people covered in the individual market increased…

  • Diminishing Offer and Coverage Rates Among Private Sector Employees

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines long-term trends in health insurance offer and enrollment rates in private sector establishments, broken out by size of firm. It finds the percentage of workers in private-sector businesses who work in firms that offer health benefits and who are eligible for those benefits has been falling for many years, as has the percentage of workers covered by health insurance in their own firm. These declines have been particularly large for workers in…

  • Average Annual Workplace Family Health Premiums Rise Modest 3% to $18,142 in 2016; More Workers Enroll in High-Deductible Plans With Savings Option Over Past Two Years

    News Release

      Few Employers Report Changing Workers’ Hours Due to ACA’s Employer Requirements; Those That Do Are More Likely to Shift Workers to Full-Time Status Menlo Park, Calif. – Annual family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 3 percent to $18,142 this year, a modest increase at a time when workers’ wages (2.5%) and inflation (1.1%) also grew modestly, according to the benchmark Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2016 Employer Health Benefits Survey…

  • YouToons: Health Insurance Explained

    Health Insurance Explained: The YouToons Have it Covered

    Video

    In this five-minute animated video, the YouToons help consumers understand their health insurance through fun, easy-to-understand explanations and scenarios. This cartoon serves as a tutorial for consumers and organizations. The YouToons previously appeared in the 2010 animated movie, "Health Reform Hits Main Street" and the 2013, "The YouToons Get Ready for Obamacare: Health Insurance Changes Coming Your Way Under the Affordable Care Act."

  • Visualizing Health Policy: Recent Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums

    News Release

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic charts recent trends in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums. Between 1999 and 2015, premiums increased by 203 percent, outpacing both inflation and workers’ earnings. However, growth of premiums for family coverage slowed toward the end of that time period, from an average of 11 percent a year between 1999 and 2005, to 5 percent between 2005 and 2015. In recent years, deductibles rose faster than both premiums and wages, with the…

  • How Health-Care Bills Hinder Millions of Americans

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the problems many Americans with health insurance are having paying medical bills based on a new Kaiser-New York Times Survey, and discusses why the issue of the adequacy of insurance coverage is gaining traction.

  • Payments for Cost Sharing Increasing Rapidly Over Time

    Issue Brief

    This Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds that for workers covered by their employer's health plans, out-of-pocket costs including deductibles and coinsurance have been increasing significantly faster than costs paid by insurers, reflecting a decade-long trend toward slightly less generous coverage.

  • Updated for 2015: Tool Displays By Locality the Share of Potential ACA Federal Marketplace Enrollees That Signed Up

    News Release

    An interactive tool from the Kaiser Family Foundation is now updated with 2015 data, allowing users to view on a local level the share of potential enrollees who signed up for a health plan in a federally-based marketplace under the Affordable Care Act. With Mapping Marketplace Enrollment, users can also compare the number of potential and actual enrollees – and the percentage that signed up for a plan -- in 2014 and 2015 within 100,000-resident…