Publications
HCCI’s external researcher publications powered by #HCCIdata

In this brief, we explain the basics of "facility fees," which have been gaining attention at the state and federal levels. We discuss what a facility fee is, why patients might receive a bill for a facility fee for non-hospital services, why there is controversy around these bills, and what policymakers are doing to address them. Download and read the brief below. As described in the br...

Cancer diagnoses can have devastating psychological and financial tolls on patients and their families. Previous research shows that Medicare beneficiaries who are newly diagnosed with cancer experience health care costs that can reach close to a quarter of household income in the year following diagnosis. People with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) may experience even greater financial burden ...

Recent policy and other initiatives aim to reduce spending on prescription drugs. At the federal level, the Inflation Reduction Act targets reductions in drug spending in Medicare through price negotiation, capping out-of-pocket spending by patients, and requiring drug manufacturers to pay rebates when prices rise faster than inflation. At the state level, there are initiatives to increase drug pr...

Evaluation and Management (E&M) services provide an entry point for many people into the health care system. This category of services includes most office visits to a primary care physician or specialist, including behavioral health services, as well evaluation and management services provided in an emergency room or outpatient setting. These visits typically involve a physician or other heal...

According to HCCI's data, the price of a hospital admission for childbirth among birthing people with employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) varies by a factor of three across hospitals within a local area. Even within the same hospital and within the same type of delivery, some births cost twice as much as others. Different prices for the same service in the same hospital with the same type of...