A recent Congressional Budget Office report comparing the prices commercial health insurers and fee-for-service Medicare pay for hospital and physician services lacks important context and raises more questions than it answers, writes Benjamin Finder, director of policy research and analysis at the AHA. 

“America’s hospitals and health systems have worked hard to reduce costs and improve the quality of care for patients, and the numbers reflect this,” writes Benjamin Finder, director of policy research and analysis at the AHA. “The failure to address these trends, along with the flawed data sources used, makes this report incomplete. We hope policymakers will take broader, more comprehensive view as they seek to untangle what’s driving health care costs in the U.S.”
 

Perspective
Public
A hospital patient from the 1990s would likely marvel at the pace of progress in health care just a generation later. America’s hospitals and health systems…
Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Feb. 11 hosted a hearing titled “Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Feb. 9 released its 2027 proposed standards for the health insurance marketplaces, including the issuers and…
Headline
A KFF survey published today found that people view prior authorization as the biggest challenge beyond costs when navigating the health care system. In terms…
Headline
A KFF analysis released Jan. 28 found that Medicare Advantage insurers made nearly 53 million prior authorization determinations in 2024, an increase…
Headline
The AHA Jan. 26 released a white paper on addressing challenges in implementing an advanced explanation of benefits, which requires coordination among multiple…