Political leaders on both sides point fingers at health insurers for high costs and patient frustrations. How much blame do insurers, in fact, deserve for our health system’s problems? In this three-part video series, KFF’s Larry Levitt considers this question and the complicated answer, exploring what’s driving rising insurance premiums, whether insurers provide value, and who we trust to decide what gets covered and at what price.

Insurers take a cut of every premium dollar for overhead and profit. The question isn't just whether they profit, but also whether we’re getting value in return. KFF’s Larry Levitt breaks down how much goes to administrative costs and profit and how that varies across private insurance markets and Medicare, and considers what a Medicare-for-all system, which would be operated by the government, would address and what might be left unresolved in this second video…

Deciding what health care gets covered largely falls to health insurers, and it’s not a role that wins them many fans. A KFF poll finds prior authorization is the single biggest burden insured adults say they face beyond cost.