This analysis examines the potential costs for COVID-19 testing that some consumers may face once the COVID-19 public health emergency ends on May 11, 2023., depending on whether they have insurance and how their insurance covers testing.
Category: prices
Analysis: Inconsistencies Within Hospital Price Transparency Data Make Cost Comparisons Difficult
Since 2021, federal law has required hospitals to publicly post information about their standard prices and negotiated discount rates for common health services to encourage consumers to compare prices and to promote competition. To date, however, the …
Ongoing Challenges with Hospital Price Transparency
This analysis examines transparency data currently shared by hospitals to comply with federal law and finds that they are messy, inconsistent and confusing, making it challenging if not impossible for patients or researchers to use them to compare pric…
How Much Could COVID-19 Vaccines Cost the U.S. After Commercialization?
This analysis illustrates the potential total cost of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, based on their publicly-announced expected prices, once they enter the U.S. commercial market. It compares the average price paid by the federal government for …
How does medical inflation compare to inflation in the rest of the economy?
Prices for medical services typically rise more quickly than the broader economy, but the reverse has been true recently as general inflation rose rapidly. This analysis finds that overall prices grew by 6% in February 2023 from the previous year, whil…
Hospital Charity Care: How It Works and Why It Matters
This issue brief examines the role that hospital charity care programs play in helping patients who are unable to afford their care. It describes how hospital charity care programs work, the amount of charity care that hospitals provide, relevant feder…
Half of All Hospitals Have Charity Care Costs That Represent 1.4% or Less of Their Operating Expenses
Half of hospitals reported that the cost of providing charity care to patients represented 1.4% or less of their operating expenses in 2020, though the rates vary widely from hospital to hospital, a new KFF analysis finds. Based on a review of hospital…
Public Opinion on Prescription Drugs and Their Prices
This chart collection draws on recent KFF 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, and various p…
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 recent trend reflects the unusually high inflation affecting other parts of the economy, whi…
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 recent trend reflects the unusually high inflation affecting other parts of the economy, whi…
