State Policy Options to Address Health Care Consolidation and Lower Hospital Prices

Across the country, high health care costs are threatening the financial wellbeing of families, business, and state and local governments. High prices driven by unchecked health care consolidation have resulted in more than a quarter of all Americans skipping or delaying care, the accumulation of over $200 billion in medical debt nationally, and high health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs leading to almost $1 trillion in lost wages for workers since 2012.

Fortunately, states have the ability to address these issues to bring real relief to their residents and local economies, and efforts are already underway across the U.S. to enact legislation that takes on high health care prices head on. Families USA presents a variety of state policy options to slow health care consolidation, lower hospital prices, and address the ever growing health care affordability crisis while highlighting those states who have already taken these issues into their own hands.