Publications
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International comparisons of health care prices from the 2017 iFHP survey
Tags: Administered Drugs, Commercially Insured, Drug Spending, Inpatient Spending, Outpatient Spending, Prices
Read more: International comparisons of health care prices from the 2017 iFHP surveyThe International Federation of Health Plans (iFHP), a CEO network of the global health insurance industry based in London, in partnership with the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) in the United States, and iFHP member companies in eight countries, today published the latest International Comparison of Health Prices Report. The report compares the median prices…
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JAMA Research Letter: Primary Care Spending in the Commercially Insured Population
Read more: JAMA Research Letter: Primary Care Spending in the Commercially Insured PopulationUsing HCCI’s data, we assessed the share among individuals younger than 65 years covered by employer-sponsored insurance from 2013 to 2017. We assessed primary care spending using 2 main definitions: a definition which included the total spending on services rendered by primary care clinicians (broad definition) and one where only CPT codes for specific services specified as…
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Comparing Post-Acute Care Use and First Site of Care Among Medicare Advantage Enrollees and Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries
Read more: Comparing Post-Acute Care Use and First Site of Care Among Medicare Advantage Enrollees and Medicare Fee-for-Service BeneficiariesUsing data from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), we examined trends in inpatient hospital admissions and post-acute care (PAC) utilization among Medicare Advantage (MA) and Fee-for-Service (FFS) beneficiaries. Specifically, we compared how frequently individuals in each group were discharged from the hospital, whether they had evidence…
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Health Services Research: Comparing Different Methods of Indexing Commercial Health Care Prices
Read more: Health Services Research: Comparing Different Methods of Indexing Commercial Health Care PricesThe methodology for HCCI’s Healthy Marketplace Index was published in a Methods Brief for Health Services Research. Abstract Objective: To compare different methods of indexing health care service prices for the commercially insured population across geographic markets. Data Sources: Health Care Cost Institute commercial claims data from 2012 to 2016. Study Design: We compare price indices computed using…
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How common is out-of-network billing?
Tags: Commercially Insured, Emergency Room, Geographic Variation, Mental Health and Substance Use, Out-of-Network, Surprise BillingRead more: How common is out-of-network billing?Congress is considering legislation to address “surprise bills”, which occur when a person visits an in-network facility, but receives services from a provider that is outside of their insurer’s network. Bills in both the House and Senate include provisions to determine a benchmark rate for out-of-network payments based on what in-network providers of the same…
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Health Affairs: Stop Blaming The Victim: The Case For Systemic Health System Transparency
Read more: Health Affairs: Stop Blaming The Victim: The Case For Systemic Health System TransparencyIn HCCI’s publication in Health Affairs Blog, we examine the case for systemic health system transparency and directing changes towards key stakeholders. From the article: “Health care costs strain the budgets of families, businesses, and governments, leaving less room for other spending and forcing painful tradeoffs. In 2017, the United States spent $3.5 trillion on health…
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Air Ambulances – 10 Year Trends in Costs and Use
Tags: 10 Year Trend, Ambulance, Charges, Commercially Insured, Emergency Room, Outpatient Spending, Prices, Utilization
Read more: Air Ambulances – 10 Year Trends in Costs and UseAir ambulances are either fixed wing (airplane) or rotary wing (helicopter) aircraft used to transport people in often time-sensitive medical situations. Air ambulances have become a frequent topic in the news due to their high cost and propensity to lead to surprise bills. Our analysis shows that although air ambulances are not frequently used and…
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Comparing Average Rates for Select Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, and Radiology Services by Local Areas
Tags: Commercially Insured, Emergency Room, Geographic Variation, Medicare, Out-of-Network, Physician Spending
Read more: Comparing Average Rates for Select Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, and Radiology Services by Local AreasWhen a person unknowingly receives health care services from a provider that is outside of their insurer’s network, it gives rise to the potential for a “surprise bill”. Congress continues to consider legislation aimed at reducing the financial burden of “surprise bills” for patients. The approach approved by committees in both the House and Senate…
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Antidepressant Use Increased for Individuals with a Mood Disorder with Employer-Sponsored Insurance
Read more: Antidepressant Use Increased for Individuals with a Mood Disorder with Employer-Sponsored InsuranceDepression is a common mood disorder that affects how people feel, think, and conduct daily activities. Approximately 17 million adults (1 in 14) had at least one major depressive episode in 2017. Surveys have found that antidepressant prescribing has increased over the past two decades. For example, a 2017 National Center for Health Statistics survey found that,…
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Insulin Use Explains Variation in Level, but not Growth, of Out-of-Pocket Spending on Insulin Products
Read more: Insulin Use Explains Variation in Level, but not Growth, of Out-of-Pocket Spending on Insulin ProductsWe previously published two blogs discussing trends in out-of-pocket spending on insulin products. First, we presented data illustrating how average monthly out-of-pocket spending in 2017 varied considerably by month, particularly for individuals enrolled in consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) that carry higher deductibles. Second, we examined the relationship between increasing point-of-sale prices between 2012 and 2017…