Cost Containment

As health care prices continue to grow unabated in the commercial market, millions of Americans face premium increases and greater exposure to out-of-pocket costs through deductibles, co-insurance, and other expenses. Such commercial prices paid to providers are far higher and have been rising more quickly than the prices paid by public health insurance programs, like Medicare. Various policy initiatives under consideration could help address this dynamic, while certain actions (including litigation) by the health care industry could further worsen the problem.