Health Care Costs - California Health Care Foundation

Health Care Costs
Rising health care costs remain a major challenge in California and across the nation. CHCF's work sheds light on trends in state and national health care spending, as well as on the affordability of health care for consumers, to spur dialogue and action toward policy solutions.

Through the Looking Glass: What’s Behind Hospital Prices for Care

December 20, 2021

Heather Tirado Gilligan

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

Glimpses behind the veil of secrecy that surrounds pricing decisions in the health care industry are often shocking and almost always bewildering.

Network Adequacy Standards in California: How They Work and Why They Matter

Amy Y. Gu, Michele Ellson, Katherine L. Gudiksen

Health Care Costs

In California, both state and federal laws impose provider network adequacy standards on health plans to ensure that the plans provide meaningful access to health care for enrollees. Yet these standards may put plans at a competitive disadvantage when negotiating contracts with providers such as specialists in short supply. This issue brief outlines considerations for policymakers.

Markets or Monopolies? Considerations for Addressing Health Care Consolidation in California

Katherine L. Gudiksen, Amy Y. Gu, Jaime S. King

Health Care Costs

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.

The Financial Impact of COVID-19 on California Hospitals: January 2020 Through June 2021

Glenn Melnick, Susan Maerki

Health Care Costs

While hospital utilization fell dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, California's hospitals still recorded nearly $3.5 billion in net revenue in 2020, with Medi-Cal providing the greatest revenue increase.

Pulling Back the Curtain: How Many California Hospitals Are Complying with Federal Price Transparency Rules?

Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

Health Care Costs

Federal regulations that went into effect in January 2021 require hospitals to release "clear, accessible pricing information" about their services. This analysis shows that only a minority of California hospitals are fully compliant with this new policy.

Infographic — US Health Care Spending: Who Pays?

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

Over the past 60 years, the way health care is financed has changed, with public insurance paying for more care. This graphic shows who paid for health care and how much it cost.

2021 Edition — Health Care Costs 101

Katherine Wilson

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

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.

Community Health Centers’ Journey Through the Pandemic

Health Care Costs

This collection highlights the financial challenges faced by California's Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they adapted to keep serving patients. It also highlights policy changes that are needed to stabilize FQHCs so they can continue to play their vital role in providing care to Californians with low incomes.

Aligning Health Cost Growth with Economic Growth Would Save Californians Billions

Kristof Stremikis

Health Care Costs

California policymakers are turning their attention to a public health crisis that has bedeviled the state for decades: unjustifiably high and rising health care costs.

The Financial Impact of COVID-19 on California Hospitals: March Through July 2020

Glenn Melnick, Susan Maerki

Health Care Costs

As COVID-19 containment efforts took hold, patient volume at California hospitals fell precipitously as hospitals discontinued elective and nonurgent care while drastically increasing inpatient bed supply to treat a predicted surge of COVID-19 patients. This analysis provides initial estimates of some of the immediate financial and longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on California’s hospitals and health care system.

Health Care Costs Accounted for 17.7 Percent of GDP in 2018

Katherine Wilson

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

New CHCF Almanac shows hospital care was the biggest spending category.

2020 Edition — Health Care Costs 101

Katherine Wilson

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

US health spending reached $3.6 trillion in 2018. National health spending grew 4.6% in 2018, a slightly higher rate than the 4.2% growth in 2017.

Examining the Authority of California’s Attorney General in Health Care Mergers

Samuel M. Chang, Thomas Greaney, Katherine L. Gudiksen, Jaime S. King

Health Care Costs

The health care industry has recently experienced horizontal, vertical, and cross-market consolidation unprecedented in scale and scope. This report examines the California attorney general's existing merger oversight authority, compares that to the authority held by other state AGs, and then offers a series of considerations for policymakers interested in ensuring that California’s health care markets operate in a more consumer-friendly manner.

Ever-Rising Health Costs Worsen California’s Coronavirus Threat

Kristof Stremikis

Health Care Costs

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread, it is important to remember another significant threat to the health of our people — soaring health costs.

Controlling Health Care Costs

Health Care Costs

Health care is too expensive for many Californians. CHCF offers these resources that detail where health spending happens, why health care costs are increasing so rapidly, and what policymakers could consider to improve value in the system.