In accordance with a brand new RAND report, costs paid to hospitals throughout 2022 by employers and personal insurers averaged 254 % of what Medicare would have paid. Analysis group RAND acknowledged in a press launch on Could 13 that there’s a large worth variation amongst states. RAND concluded that whereas some states had relative costs beneath 200 % of Medicare, different states had relative costs above 300 % of Medicare.
The research discovered that in 2022, relative costs for inpatient hospital providers averaged 255 % of Medicare costs, outpatient hospital providers averaged 289 %, and related skilled providers averaged 188 % of what Medicare would have paid.
“Hospitals account for the most important share of healthcare spending in america, so this report additionally gives priceless data which will assist policymakers concerned with curbing healthcare prices,” director of Rand Well being Care, Peter S. Hussey, mentioned in an announcement.
The American Hospital Affiliation (AHA) questioned the findings of the RAND report. In a Could 13 press launch, group vp for public coverage Molly Smith mentioned, “In what’s changing into an all too acquainted sample, the RAND Company’s newest hospital worth report oversells and underwhelms. Their evaluation…nonetheless represents lower than 2 % of general hospital spending.”
Smith claimed that RAND makes an “apples-to-oranges comparability.” “Along with the continuing flaw of counting on a self-selected pattern of information, their evaluation is suspiciously silent on the hidden affect of economic insurers in driving up healthcare prices for sufferers,” Smith remarked.
RAND reminded readers, “Spending on hospital providers accounted for 42 % of whole U.S. private healthcare spending for privately insured people in 2022.”