Two new chart collections examine trends in healthcare prices and utilization and compare health spending in the United States with that of other wealthy countries.
Category: Kaiser Family Foundation
How have healthcare prices grown in the U.S. over time?
This chart collection explores price increases in private insurance for common services over time and finds significant geographic variation in prices. For example, the average price of a full knee replacement for those in large employer plans increase…
How do healthcare prices and use in the U.S. compare to other countries?
This chart collection illustrates that higher prices – more so than utilization – explain the United States’ high health spending relative to other high-income countries. The U.S. has higher prices for most healthcare services and prescription drugs, according to available internationally comparable data. Meanwhile, utilization of several services, including physician consultations and hospital stays, is lower than in many comparable countries. Use of some services, such as C-sections and knee replacements, is higher in the U.S. than in similar countries.
Why are Healthcare Prices So High, and What can be Done about Them?
An archived webcast of this forum is now available at www.healthsystemtracker.org . Nearly a fifth of the United States’ economy goes to healthcare spending – a far larger share than in any other large, wealthy country in the world. Research suggests that price, rather than the volume of services, is the main driver of this…More
Searching for Savings in Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
In response to higher drug spending growth and heightened attention to drug prices, some policymakers have proposed allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. This issue brief provides a short history of this proposal, describes va…
Analysis: Cost of Treating Opioid Addiction Rose Rapidly for Large Employers as the Number of Prescriptions Has Declined
A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds that while the use of prescription opioids among people with employer-based health coverage has declined to its lowest levels in over a decade, the cost of treating addiction and overdoses has increased sharply. The annual cost of treating opioid addiction and overdose – stemming from both prescription and…More
A Look at How the Opioid Crisis Has Affected People with Employer Coverage
This Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds that while prescription opioid use among people with private insurance has declined to its lowest levels in over a decade, the cost of treating opioid abuse has increased substantially.
The Politics of ACA Rate Hikes Will Be 2016 in Reverse
Democrats are expected to turn the tables and attack Republicans for rising premiums and sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. In his Axios column, Drew Altman discusses a balancing act they face which has not received attention: score political points, …
Public Opinion on Prescription Drugs and Their Prices
This slideshow draws on recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll findings to provide an in-depth look at the public’s attitudes toward prescription drugs and their prices. Results include Americans’ opinions on drug affordability, pharmaceutical companies,…
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – March 2018: Views on Prescription Drug Pricing and Medicare-for-all Proposals
More than a year into President Trump’s presidency, the March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll gauges the public’s top priorities for the president and Congress to do in the coming months. This month’s poll also measures perceptions on the cost of prescription drugs, attitudes towards policymakers’ actions to address drug prices, and views of pharmaceutical companies. In addition, with the 2018 midterm elections less than 8 months away, the KFF poll asks how important a national health plan is to voters.
