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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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  • New Kaiser Policy Insight and Issue Brief Examine Policy Implications and Legal Arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell Case

    News Release

    With the Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in King v. Burwell on March 4, a new Policy Insight from the Kaiser Family Foundation's Larry Levitt and Gary Claxton explores the policy implications for consumers and insurance markets if the Court were to side with the plaintiffs in the challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s consumer subsidies. A second issue brief by KFF’s MaryBeth Musumeci, a policy analyst and an attorney, explains the legal…

  • Controlling Health Insurance Premiums: Perspectives from the States, the Federal Government and Industry

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Affordable Care Act creates a process for states and the Department of Health and Human Services to review “unreasonable” premium increases and provide information to consumers about the process. The rules governing this rate review process went into effect September 1, 2011. This briefing by the Kaiser Family Foundation, held on September 22, 2011, addressed how these new rules might work and what the implications may be for the growth in health insurance premiums…

  • New Report Looks at Health Care Trends in California Compared to Rest of Nation

    Report

    A new chartbook by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that on most, though not all indicators, California's health care system fares poorly when compared to the U.S. as a whole. The report, Health Care Trends and Indicators in California and the United States, shows that many more Californians have no health insurance than in the rest of the U.S., but when they do have insurance it tends to be more comprehensive and cost less than…

  • Coverage and Cost Impacts of the President’s Health Insurance Tax Credit and Tax Deduction Proposals

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief looks at the coverage impacts and costs of two components of the administration’s FY 2005 budget proposals to increase the affordability of health insurance: a new tax credit for people purchasing non-group health insurance and a new tax deduction for premiums for high-deductible, non-group health insurance policies. The estimates were prepared by Jonathan Gruber, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, using a micro-simulation model developed in conjunction with…

  • Why Consumer Issues Are Rising on the Health Agenda

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the trends that may be leading to a rise in consumer cost issues on the health agenda. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • Children’s Coverage: What Matters Most to Parents Results from Focus Groups in 6 Cities

    Issue Brief

    This report is based on based on focus group discussions with parents with moderate incomes enrolled in private coverage (employer sponsored or Marketplace) who had children in public coverage (primarily CHIP) or children with private coverage. This report is based on 14 focus group discussions conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and John Snow, Inc. in six cities during February and March 2015. Sites included Birmingham, AL, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Philadelphia, PA, and Tampa,…

  • Amid Merger Talk, a Look at Health Insurers’ Medicare Business

    News Release

    With recent news about possible health insurance company mergers, Drew Altman looks beyond the impact on Wall Street to how mergers could affect Medicare beneficiaries in his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available.

  • How Health-Care Bills Hinder Millions of Americans

    News Release

    In his latest 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. All previous columns by Drew Altman are online.

  • New Analysis: Half of U.S. Households Eligible for a Tax Subsidy Under the Health Law Would Owe a Repayment, While 45 Percent Would Receive a Refund

    News Release

    Estimated Average Repayment is $794. Estimated Average Refund is $773. Half of U.S. households eligible for a 2014 tax subsidy under the Affordable Care Act would owe a repayment to the government, while 45 percent would receive a refund, according to estimates from a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The analysis – which is a simulation based on historical patterns of income volatility among all households eligible for ACA premium subsidies -- estimates that the…