Hospital prices are the leading driver of high and rising health care costs for America’s working families and the employers that provide them health benefits. To lower the cost of health care across Illinois, the Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) was selected as one of 15 regional business coalitions by the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions to participate in the Hospital Fair Price initiative.
Across the country, employers provide health coverage in the commercial market for more than 180 million people. Over the past several decades, hospitals and health systems have consolidated while dramatically raising prices for employers and working families. Today, American employers and purchasers in the commercial market pay more for inpatient and outpatient hospital care than anyone else in the world and roughly two and a half times what Medicare pays for the same services.
“The average cost of health insurance for a family with employer-sponsored health care exceeds $22,000 per year and is no longer sustainable for employers and employees alike,” said Cheryl Larson, MBGH president and CEO. “To catalyze change, employers are working together to use their market buying power. But we can’t do it alone. To level the playing field with increasingly consolidated hospital markets, we are asking legislators to enact policy changes that will have a measurable impact on unsustainable costs.”
As part of the Hospital Fair Price initiative, MBGH is taking steps to demand value and fairness in the biggest segment of the health care industry. Over the next year the organization, which represents leading private and public employers with more than 4 million lives, will directly engage with federal and state policymakers and health care stakeholders using a results-oriented policy agenda to educate them on the need for reforms to ensure employers can negotiate fair prices with hospitals.
One of the first deliverables was recently released by the National Alliance with MBGH playing an advisory role. Setting the Record Straight: The Urgency of Achieving Hospital Fair Price, identifies and debunks 10 of the top hospital industry inaccuracies around high, rapidly rising, and indefensible hospital prices.
About the Midwest Business Group on Health
Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit supporting employers seeking solutions to better manage the high cost of health care and the health and productivity of their covered populations. Founded in 1980, MBGH offers members leading educational programs, employer-directed research projects, purchasing opportunities and community-based activities that increase the value of health care services and the health benefits they offer to members. MBGH serves over 150 companies who provide benefits to over 4 million lives, with employer members spending more than $15 billion on health care each year. For additional details visit www.mbgh.org and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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