Are health care prices falling?
It seems like everything just gets more and more expensive. But are prices for medical care declining? Cutler et al. (1998) found in seminal paper […]
Prices
Overall inflation has not yet flowed through to the health sector
Prices for medical services typically rise more quickly than the broader economy, but the reverse has been true recently as general inflation rose rapidly. The […]
Who pays more for hospital and physician services: commercial payers, Medicare or Medicaid? And how much more?
Many people might know that generally the answer is commercial health plans have the most generous reimbursement compared to government plans. However, a key question […]
Half of Admissions in the Large Group Market Are Paid Above 150% of Medicare Rates, Excluding Maternity Admissions
This analysis looks at in-network payment rates for inpatient hospital stays, other than maternity/newborn admissions, among large employer plans relative to Medicare payment rates. We […]
Prices Increased Faster Than Inflation for Half of all Drugs Covered by Medicare in 2020
Recent legislation would require drug companies to pay rebates to the federal government when annual increases in prescription drug prices for Medicare and private insurance […]
How Do Prescription Drug Costs in the United States Compare to Other Countries?
This chart collection examines what we know about prescription drug spending and use in the U.S. and comparably large and wealthy countries, using data from […]
Simulating the Impact of the Drug Price Negotiation Proposal in the Build Back Better Act
The Build Back Better Act (BBBA) includes a range of health and other proposals supported by President Biden, including a proposal to allow the federal […]
Assessing Online Availability of At-Home COVID-19 Tests Ahead of Private Insurance Reimbursement
This data note explores findings from on an 8-day online search for at home COVID-19 tests at major retailers. The findings are described against the […]
No Surprises Act Implementation: What to Expect in 2022
The “No Surprises Act,” which establishes new federal protections against most surprise out-of-network medical bills when a patient receives out-of-network services during an emergency visit […]
Dec. 8 Event: Unpacking the Prescription Drug Provisions of the Build Back Better Act
Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET As the Build Back Better Act shifts from the House to the Senate, there’s considerable […]
Dec. 8 Event: Unpacking the Prescription Drug Provisions of the Build Back Better Act
Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET As the Build Back Better Act shifts from the House to the Senate, there’s considerable […]
Summary of Costs and Impact of the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Build Back Better Act
As the House-passed Build Back Better Act moves to the Senate, a new explainer from KFF summarizes the key prescription drug provisions within the broader […]
The Public Weighs In On Medicare Drug Negotiations
This data note from the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll explores the public’s views on Medicare drug price negotiation, including how arguments on both sides […]
Large Majorities Across Parties Favor Allowing the Federal Government to Negotiate Drug Prices, Even After Hearing Common Arguments About It
Most of the Public Lacks Confidence that President Biden, Congressional Democrats or Republicans Will Do the Right Thing on Drug Prices Allowing the federal government […]
AMA report: U.S. has “highly concentrated” payer markets that stifle competition
About 73% of health insurance markets are highly concentrated, and in 46% of markets, one insurer had a share of 50% or more, a new […]
Lawsuit: Mission Health purchase enabled HCA to create monopoly in North Carolina
A class-action lawsuit, filed by six North Carolina residents, alleges that HCA Healthcare bought Mission Health to gain monopolistic control in the Western part of […]
The Sleeper Health Cost Policy
In this Axios column, Drew Altman unpacks President Biden’s recent executive order on promoting competition, exploring its significance for new efforts to control health costs […]
Few Americans research hospital prices
New regulation is making hospital prices available to patients. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reports: As of January 1 of this year, hospitals are required […]
Seven insurers sue CVS for allegedly inflating drug prices
For the second time in the span of one year, a group of insurers has filed a lawsuit against CVS alleging it overcharged them for […]
Study: PE firms acquire hospitals with high operating margins, boosting them further
Hospitals acquired by PE firms tend to have higher operating margins than those that are not acquired — and that gap widens over time, a […]
Are prices for diabetes drugs rising or falling?
Conventional wisdom would hold that the prices are rising…aren’t they? To correctly answer this question, one must define which prices you are talking about. Are […]
Surprise Medical Bills: New Protections for Consumers Take Effect in 2022
This summarizes key provisions of the No Surprises Act, enacted in December 2020 to address the problem of unexpected medical bills, and issues that could […]
Analysis Examines the Implications of Price Transparency for Providers and Patients as New Rules Go into Effect
A new KFF analysis examines how new federal rules on price transparency for health services may affect patient decision-making and market pricing. As of January […]
Price Transparency and Price Variation in U.S. Health Services
A new Peterson-KFF analysis examines the potential impact of new federal price transparency rules on patient decision-making and market pricing for health services. The brief […]
How Costly Are Common Health Services in the United States?
A new chart collection examines what we know about the cost of common health services in the U.S. The analysis shows that costs for many […]
Health Policy Resources for Covering the 2020 Elections
As the 2020 Election Day approaches, many candidates continue to focus on health care issues, including on the public health and economic response to COVID-19, […]
Moderna Prices its COVID-19 Vaccine at $32-$37 per Dose for Smaller Volume Agreements
Shots: For smaller volume agreements, the company has priced its COVID-19 vaccine ranging from $32-$37/ dose, higher than the price of Pfizer’s vaccine candidate The […]
COVID-19 Test Prices and Payment Policy
This analysis examines list prices for COVID-19 testing at the largest hospitals in every state and finds they range widely from $20 to $850. Federal […]
