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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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  • Survey of Kentucky Residents on State Health Policy

    Poll Finding

    This survey of Kentucky residents gauges their views on health care policy in the state, including their preferences for the future of the Medicaid expansion and the state-based health insurance marketplace, Kynect. Kentucky has received national attention as the only Southern state to fully embrace the Affordable Care Act, though the state elected a new governor in November 2015 who campaigned on rolling back the Medicaid expansion and ending Kynect.

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

    Other Post

    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…

  • Cost-Sharing Waivers and Premium Relief by Private Plans in Response to COVID-19 (Nov. 2020 Update)

    Issue Brief

    An updated issue brief estimates the number of enrollees in individual and fully-insured group market plans that have waived cost-sharing – out-of-pocket costs including coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles – for COVID-19 treatment. The analysis also estimates the number of enrollees whose insurer is offering various forms of premium payment relief. The updated analysis finds that, as of November 2020, about half (49%) of fully-insured plan enrollees have coverage that waives cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment through…

  • Contraception X Article: Out-of-Pocket Spending for Oral Contraceptives Among Women with Private Insurance Coverage After the Affordable Care Act

    Issue Brief

    In an article for Contraception X, KFF's Brittni Frederiksen, Matthew Rae, and Alina Salganicoff examine large employer plans to identify which types and brands of oral contraceptive pills have the largest shares of oral contraceptive users with out-of-pocket spending and which oral contraceptives have the highest average annual out-of-pocket costs after the ACA covered contraception under it's preventive services provisions.

  • Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, President Trump and Democratic Nominee Joe Biden Offer Widely Different Views on Health Care

    News Release

    President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden hold widely divergent views on health issues, with the president’s record and response to the coronavirus pandemic likely to play a central role in November’s elections. A new KFF side-by-side comparison examines President Trump’s record and former Vice President Biden’s positions across a wide range of key health issues, including the response to the pandemic, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, drug prices, reproductive health, HIV, mental…

  • The Language of Health Care Reform

    Perspective

    Published in the Jan. 19 edition of JAMA, this article from KFF Executive Vice President for Health Policy Larry Levitt lays out the major health policy challenges that will confront President-elect Biden and potential approaches to major reform.While a big reform debate may not be likely this year, one is likely coming as the nation will need to confront much higher costs than in other high-income countries, worse outcomes in many cases, tens of millions…

  • From the Federal Response to COVID-19 to Ongoing Efforts to Repeal the ACA and Proposals for Lowering Drug Prices, President Trump Has an Extensive Record on Health Care

    News Release

    Since taking office in 2017, President Trump has laid down an extensive record on health care, including his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, his early and ongoing efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, his annual budget proposals to curb spending on Medicare and Medicaid, his executive orders and other proposals to lower prescription drug prices, and his initiative on hospital price transparency. President Trump’s record on health care provides a window into…

  • Analysis Examines the Affordable Care Act’s Impact on Nearly All Americans

    News Release

    A week after the 2020 elections, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on a legal challenge, supported by the Trump administration, that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act, an outcome that would have major effects throughout the health care system as the law’s provisions have affected nearly all Americans in some way. A KFF analysis examines key provisions of the 2010 law that have changed the nation’s health care system, including what’s…