The Council recently submitted a letter of support to CMS regarding the proposed rule to publicize hospital standard charges.
The reality of rising healthcare costs is particularly important to Council members because the employer-sponsored insurance market has and will continue to bear the burden of cost-shifting. Prices are highest in the commercial insurance market where employer-sponsored health plans pay twice as much as Medicare and Medicaid for common tests and procedures, particularly in the areas of inpatient hospital care and prescription drugs (both of which have seen more than a 25% jump in price since 2012).