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.

Sign up for CHCF updates on Health Care 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.

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.

Getting to Affordability: Spending Trends and Waste in California’s Health Care System

RAND Corporation

Health Care Costs

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.

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. See the data in this quick reference guide.

Commissioning Change: How Four States Use Advisory Boards to Contain Health Spending

Glenn Melnick, Susan Maerki

Health Care Costs

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.

The Sky’s the Limit

Richard M. Scheffler, Daniel R. Arnold, Brent D. Fulton

Health Care Costs

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.

The Secret of Health Care Prices: Why Transparency Is in the Public Interest

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

Health Care Costs, Data Exchange

Data transparency is core to bringing down health care costs. This report looks at the legal and economic implications of releasing data on the amounts paid for health care services, including negotiated rates between insurance plans and providers, as a means of controlling costs and increasing access to care.

2019 Edition — Health Care Costs 101

Katherine Wilson

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

National health spending grew by 3.9% in 2017, slower than the 4.8% growth in 2016. This Almanac report, Health Care Costs 101: Spending Keeps Growing, details how much is spent on health care in the US, which services are purchased, and who pays.

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.

California Cost & Quality Atlas Helps Map Path to Higher-Value Care

Jeffrey Rideout

Health Care Costs

When it comes to health care services, geographic differences in cost and quality are neither expected nor valued — and now researchers are compiling and sharing data that could help reduce disparities.

California Health Care Spending

Katherine Wilson

Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

Health spending in California totaled $292 billion in 2014, which is 12.6% of the state's economy. See California's health care spending numbers for private health insurance, Medi-Cal, and Medicare.

Uncompensated Hospital Care Costs Sink to Record Low in California

February 20, 2017

Providers, Health Care Costs, Payment & Financing

As California's uninsured rate plummeted during the first two years of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), uncompensated care costs for California's hospitals followed suit, declining 52% from $3.1 billion in 2013 to $1.5 billion in 2015. This progress may be in peril, however, if efforts to repeal and replace the ACA are successful and the uninsured population increases.

Health Spending Projections: 2015–2025

Payment & Financing, Health Care Costs

National health spending will reach $5.6 trillion by 2025. Get the data on payers, per enrollee costs, payment sources, and spending on types of services.

Fundamental Concepts for Managing Risk and Understanding the Total Cost of Care

Health Care Costs

This CIN resource is designed to serve as a primer for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of health payment models in California and nationally. It focuses on concepts and terminology related to value-based payment models and to health care delivery models and systems.