Lowering Healthcare Costs

The ever rising cost of healthcare services and procedures puts a significant strain on Americans, with 57 million reporting that they have cut back on household spending to pay for hospital stays, prescription drugs, insurance premiums, and associated out-if-pocket costs.

Why it matters

$4.5 Trillion

In national health expenditures in 2022

45%

Americans fear bankruptcy if faced with a major health event

2-to-1

Growth of healthcare spending compared to household income

$2 Trillion

Employer spending on health coverage by 2040

Objective

Reduce spending, improve quality and lower everyday costs of healthcare for consumers through policy reform at the state and federal levels.

Current goals

Enable reforms that better manage insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs in both the Medicare program and the private insurance market.

Support policies that ensure the same price for the same healthcare services is paid regardless of the site of care.

Increase price transparency for healthcare services.

Improve quality and safety through patient-centered care delivery and better data tracking and analysis.

Spotlight

Same Service, Same Price

Supporting policies to curb unfair billing practices and increase price transparency

Higher healthcare costs may be attributed in part to price charged for similar services but performed in different medical facilities. For example, hospital-owned doctor’s offices charge more for the same service performed at independent physician’s offices.

West Health favors site-neutral payment reforms, or policy solutions to ensure that insurers and consumers pay the same price for doctor’s visits, procedures, and tests, regardless of where they are delivered. Check out our latest “Same Service, Same Price” resource for more information.

States are providing a blueprint for policy change at the federal level: 11 states enacted new laws and regulations to control facility fees—or the additional fees charged by hospitals and their outpatient departments. Learn More
Clinical lab markups reveal inequitable pricing for the same service: Nationally, insurers are paying on average three- times more for tests such as simple blood and urine tests when billed by hospital outpatient departments compared to doctor’s offices. Learn More

Additional Resources from the Health Savers Initiative: a collaborative project of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), Arnold Ventures, and West Health.

Moving to site neutrality in Commercial Insurance Payments: Reducing commercial premiums by $368 billion and cost-sharing for consumers by $73 billion. Learn More
Equalizing Medicare Payments Regardless of Site: Reducing premiums and cost-sharing for Medicare beneficiaries by $94 billion. Learn More

Healthcare Consolidation is a Major Contributor to Rising Costs

Healthcare consolidation and rising costs

Market consolidation in healthcare drives up costs. Since 2010, there have been more than 1,000 hospital mergers that have occurred contributing to a 300% increase in hospital prices. Despite promises it would reduce costs and improve care, the opposite has happened. Check out this animated short to learn more.

Watch Now

Healthcare Affordability Dashboard

Rising costs and the postponement of care have been years in the making. Our interactive data dashboard serves as a tool for elected officials, policy makers, and the public to better understand the changing attitudes and behaviors toward healthcare, and what needs to be done to avoid putting the health of millions of Americans at risk.

View Gallup Dashboard