Search the News Archive

2017 Health Care Cost and Utilization Report for Americans Covered by Employer-Sponsored Insurance (PDF)

23 pages. "In 2017, per-person spending reached $5,641, a new all-time high for this population.... Average prices increased 3.6% in 2017. Year-over-year price growth decelerated throughout the five-year period, rising 4.8% between 2013 and 2014 and slowing to 3.6% in 2016 and 2017.... The overall use of health care services changed very little over the 2013 to 2017 period, declining 0.2%.... Out-of-pocket spending per-person increased 2.6% in 2017." [Also available: data download in .CSV file format, and HCCI's updated analytic methodology.]

Can Employers Help Lower Health Care Prices Through Self-Insured Plans?

"Recent data from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) show that price growth accounted for more than half the change in per person health care spending from 2017 to 2021. Nearly half of people in the US get health insurance through work, either through their own employer or as a dependent.... [This article answers] ten questions about the role of employers in lowering health care spending."

HCCI Introduces Free Price Transparency Tool

"[T]he Health Care Cost Institute is excited to introduce ... a free health care price transparency tool that shows consumers the average prices for health care services in their local metropolitan area. Access to data on prices can help consumers, employers, and other purchasers of health care better understand typical rates for the most common health care services."

During Pandemic, Overall Healthcare Costs Decreased But Unit Prices Rose

"The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) reported that total medical costs for those in employer-sponsored health insurance went down by 8.9% in 2020, and out-of-pocket costs declined by 11%.... Unit prices continue to rise and pose the largest threat to health care affordability. Efforts to steer members to lower cost providers can help lower unit cost. Consolidation of providers has decreased leverage to gain discounts."

Comparing Commercial and Medicare Professional Service Prices

"[F]rom 2014 to 2018, prices accounted for about 75 percent of the increase in spending above inflation.... [C]ommercial prices for professional services were, on average, 122% of Medicare rates nationally in 2017. Average commercial prices varied dramatically across states, from below Medicare rates in Alabama (98% of Medicare) to nearly twice Medicare rates in Wisconsin (188% of Medicare).... [T]he difference between commercial and Medicare prices was largest in northwestern states."

Use of and Spending on Top Prescription Drugs in Employer Sponsored Insurance, 2021

"The most used drug in HCCI's data in 2021 was atorvastatin (various brand names, including Lipitor), a statin (i.e., to treat high cholesterol) with over 1 million unique users in HCCI's data.... The drug associated with the highest spending in HCCI's 2021 data was adalimumab (Humira), an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Adalimumab carried a price tag of over $7,000 for a 30-day supply in the HCCI data and was associated with close to $19 billion in spending when weighted to be representative of spending in the full ESI population in 2021."