This issue brief documents efforts in eight states that have established new independent commissions or increased the authority of an existing regulatory body to monitor and limit unnecessary growth in health spending.

Most California health care markets are highly concentrated, with hospital markets in particular approaching monopoly levels in many counties. Studies show that mergers of health care companies result in increased prices for services. This report compiles evidence about consolidation and provides potential considerations for policymakers.

Health Care Costs 101: Federal Spending on COVID-19 Drives Growth provides a detailed look at national health care spending in 2020.

Controlling the growth of health spending is central to any state effort to achieve universal coverage and to relieve consumers struggling with out-of-pocket costs. California can learn from four states that have established state commissions to measure, monitor, and set targets to control health care cost increases.

Health care is still far too expensive for many Californians. Crucial to any cost containment effort is a detailed understanding of what costs are being reduced, where they are coming from, and who has the potential to capture the savings. This report focuses on the landscape of health care spending and a framework for understanding cost containment approaches in California.

Health Care Costs 101: US Spending Growth Outpaces Economy provides a detailed look at national health care spending in 2019, just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

California pays significantly more for common health care services than the rest of the country, and the gap has been widening. A critical factor in the fast growth of prices is market concentration — including hospital consolidation and physician integration — which has been proliferating in the state. The Sky’s the Limit: Health Care Prices and Market Consolidation in California looks at the data and the policies that can be considered to address this serious concern.