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Spending on emergency department (ED) facility fees rose steadily between 2009 and 2015, even as the overall number of ED fees billed declined, according to an analysis of Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) data, Sarah Kliff writes for Vox. However, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is pushing back against the findings, noting that the analysis examined only spending by employer-s...

 By: Les Masterson Dive Brief: Hospital emergency room (ER) facility fees increased 89% between 2009 and 2015, which is twice as fast as outpatient care and four times as fast as overall healthcare spending, reported Vox and Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) in a new report.Vox and HCCI analyzed 70 million insurance bills for ER visits. The analysis focused on facility fees and not the hospit...

By: Marshall Allen This story was co-published with NPR's Shots blog. Two years ago, Margaret O'Neill brought her 5-year-old daughter to Children's Hospital Colorado because the band of tissue that connected her tongue to the floor of her mouth was too tight. The condition, literally called being "tongue-tied," made it hard for the girl to make "th" sounds. It's a common problem with a simple fix:...

 ABSTRACT: Using prices of hospital admissions and visits to five types of physicians, we analyzed how provider and insurer market concentration—as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)—interact and are correlated with prices. We found evidence that in the range of the Department of Justice's and Federal Trade Commission's definition of a moderately concentrated market (HHI of...

ABSTRACT Background: Obstetric procedures are among the most expensive health care services, yet relatively little is known about health care spending among pregnant women, particularly the commercially-insured. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the association between maternal medical complexity, as a result of having one or more comorbid conditions, and health care spending d...

By: Laura Dyrda The Health Care Cost Institute issued the "Healthy Marketplace Index: Medical Service Category Price Index" report for 2017 in April. The report calculates metrics comparing aspects of price, competition and productivity of healthcare markets over time, which shows trends for potential future research. The report includes data for inpatient, outpatient and physician medical service...

ABSTRACT: Prices for hospital admissions have received considerable attention in recent years, both because they are an important component of health care spending and because they can vary widely. In this paper, we use 2013 claims data from three large insurers to examine the hospital payment rates of those insurers in their commercial plans and their Medicare Advantage plans and compare them wit...

The 2015 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that spending per privately insured averaged $5,141 in 2015, up $226 from the year before. Key Findings  ​Health care spending averaged $5,141 per individual in 2015, up $226 from the year before.Out-of-pocket spending rose 3.0 percent in 2015, to an average of $813 per capita.Spending on prescription drugs grew faster than spending on an...

ABSTRACT There is ongoing debate about how prices paid to providers by Medicare Advantage plans compare to prices paid by fee-for-service Medicare. We used data from Medicare and the Health Care Cost Institute to identify the prices paid for hospital services by fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, and commercial insurers in 2009 and 2012. We calculated the average price per a...

The 2014 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report tracks changes in health care prices, utilization, and spending for people younger than 65 covered by employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI). The 2014 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that spending per privately insured person grew 3.4% in 2014, with more dollars going to brand-name drugs than in prior years.   Download Report A...

The 2013 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that spending per privately insured grew 3.9% in 2013, as falling utilization offset rising prices. The 2013 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report tracks changes in health care prices, utilization, and spending for people younger than 65 covered by employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI).   Download Report Appendix Tables  Key Fi...

This issue brief is one of the first to examine health care trends for young adults (ages 19-25) with employer-sponsored insurance before and after implementation of Section 1001 of the Affordable Care Act that allows parents to include their adult children in family health plans.    Download PDF File Here

The 2012 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report shows that the growth rate of health care spending among privately insured people under age 65 remained low in 2012, growing 4.0 percent, slightly lower than in 2011 (4.1%).   Download Report Appendix Tables Key Findings ​Spending grew fastest for young adults, women, and people living in the Northeast.Out-of-pocket spending rose more quickly t...

 The Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: 2011 provides the first broad look at 2011 health care spending among those with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI). HCCI found that average dollars spent on health care services for that population climbed 4.6 percent in 2011, reaching $4,547 per person. This was well above the 3.8 percent growth rate observed in 2010. Download Report Appendix Ta...

Findings from HCCI's Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: 2011    Download PDF File Here

The 2010 HCCI Health Care Cost and Utilization Report is the first report of its kind to track changes in expenditures and utilization of health care services by those younger than 65 covered by employer sponsored, private health insurance (ESI). This report assesses the levels and changes in prices and utilization (including changes in the mix of services) focusing on 2009 and 2010. This report i...