NEW RESEARCH: Hospital Pricing Policies Modeled in MA, IN, and NC Would Deliver Billions of Dollars in Savings for People

Implementing all three cost-saving policies could save people tens of billions of dollars across all three states

Washington, DC — Today, United States of Care (USofCare) released a new report supported by an independent analysis from the Brown University Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research (CAHPR) outlining how much money could be saved for people by implementing several hospital pricing policies – including facility fee bans, establishing site-neutral payment policy, and setting hospital commercial payment caps for critical health care services. 

As large hospitals and health systems buy up smaller clinics and doctor’s offices, millions of people are facing higher health care costs including increased out-of-pocket expenses, higher premiums, and surprise facility fees – or hidden, unexpected charges tacked onto a patient’s bill simply because they received care at an outpatient facility owned by a hospital or health system. 

With people continuing to face these barriers, this research models the impact these cost-saving policies could have in Massachusetts, Indiana, and North Carolina, and underscores just how much policymakers across the nation can do to deliver relief to people.

Key findings from this research include: 

• Through reduced out-of-pocket costs and premiums, people could save up to $2.7 billion across all three states by establishing site-neutral payment policy for some critical health care services. 
• Similarly, people could see savings of up to $681 million by banning facility fees across all three states.
• People could also see savings of up to $25.9 billion by capping commercial payments for certain hospital services at a percentage of Medicare. 
• The impact on hospital operating margins across all three policies would be minimal, and state policymakers could tailor each policy to ensure hospitals remain supported and accessible for people. 
• While these policies were modeled in three states, policymakers in every state and the federal government can look to these findings to see how they can make health care more affordable for people. 

“Our research shows that there’s billions of dollars in savings for people just waiting to be delivered – and that’s just from running the numbers in these three states,” said Liz Hagan, Director of State Policy Solutions at United States of Care. “We know that costs and affordability are the top health care challenges people want addressed. The findings from this research aren’t just a call to action for policymakers in Massachusetts, Indiana, and North Carolina – it’s a roadmap for states across the country and the federal government for delivering meaningful relief to people struggling to afford their health care.”

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