News
Media coverage of HCCI’s original research

The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI), in collaboration with West Health, conducted an analysis on health care use and spend patterns among older adults with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI). This group is the key to anticipating future needs and demands on the health care system as they approach Medicare eligibility. We found that from 2018 to 2022, people aged 55-64 used mo...

Childbirth costs, outcomes, and access to care differ between rural and urban hospitals. Rural areas have fewer short-term general acute care (GAC) hospitals, with only about 35% of all GAC hospitals operating in rural locations in 2023. As rural hospitals continue to face financial distress, many unprofitable service lines, such as hospital-based obstetric service units have closed. A recent stud...

The high and rising costs of childbirth pose a financial challenge to many families. One study found that 60% of pregnant and postpartum women reported having difficulty affording care, with women enrolled in commercial insurance more likely to report affordability challenges than those with public insurance. To understand the average total spending on childbirth related services, as well as to lo...

Research has shown that the price of a single service provided in a hospital outpatient department is consistently higher than the same service provided in a physician office. An earlier HCCI analysis examined 46 services that could be provided in either setting and found higher prices in outpatient departments for all services in all years studied. More recently, we evaluated prices for laborator...

Blood cancers represent a range of diseases that can affect blood cells, bone marrow, lymph nodes, and other parts of the lymphatic system. Health care claims data can provide insights into how many people are dealing with blood cancers. Using claims data from people enrolled in Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), and Traditional Medicare, this data brief highlights the percentage of peo...