Why We Made This Guide

Did you know that hospital prices increased 60 percent more than our paychecks over the last 25 years?1,2

In poll after poll, year after year, in America, the rising cost of health care is the number one issue on the minds of voters. When we consider the outrageous price of care and massive medical bills, two familiar villains come to mind: pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies.

But the most significant drivers behind rising health care costs in America have largely escaped public scrutiny and blame: big health care corporations and hospitals.

Hospital care represents the largest share of national health spending – 33 percent – with an estimated $1.3 trillion3 in spending in 2021.

Decades ago, small local hospitals were pillars of their communities and relied on charitable donations and public fundraising to stay afloat. In recent years, however, large health care companies have bought and bundled up these local hospitals, creating medical monopolies that take over entire communities and regions, and then raise the price of care.

This corporate takeover of our health care system has led to a rise in costs and a drop in quality of care, especially for the more than 176 million Americans who get health insurance through their jobs or buy directly from health plans. And the economic impact doesn’t stop there.

Hospital prices are going up; premiums are going up; but wages are staying the same. When big health care corporations take over their competition, they are able to set their own prices, and can even choose to charge people more based not on their age or health status, but on their health insurance plan.