Rising hospital prices will face scrutiny on Wednesday as a U.S. House panel examines the drivers of health care costs across the country.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing titled “Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the U.S. Provider Landscape.”
The hearing comes as hospital costs have surged far faster than overall inflation. Since 2000, hospital service prices have increased more than 280%, compared to about 93% overall inflation, according to federal data. Other major expenses, such as housing and food, have increased by far less over the same period.
Those increases are not isolated. Analysts say hospital pricing affects nearly every part of the system, from insurance premiums to out-of-pocket costs.
A 2024 analysis by the RAND Corporation found that hospitals charged private insurers, on average, 254% of what Medicare would have paid for the same services.
“These very high payments ultimately result in higher premiums for health insurance coverage and can result in those needing care having to pay high prices to get it,” Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University, told NBC News.
The report also found hospital services accounted for 42% of health care spending for people with private insurance in 2022.
Brian Briscombe, a Rand analyst who led the report, said workers ultimately bear those costs.
“When you think about it in the way of an economist, all of it is paid by the patient,” Briscombe said. “I mean, if it cost my job half as much to have health care, my salary would go up.”
Meanwhile, nonprofit hospitals, which are more than half of all hospitals in America, get significant tax breaks in exchange for providing community benefits and charity care.
However, multiple analyses say many are not meeting that obligation.
A review by the Lown Institute found 54% of nonprofit hospitals studied spent less on community benefits than the value of their tax exemptions, resulting in an $11.5 billion deficit annually.
Some hospitals have faced criticism for aggressive collection practices, including lawsuits, wage garnishments, and liens against patients.
High medical costs continue to have serious financial consequences.
Research published in the American Journal of Public Health found that about 66.5% of bankruptcies between 2013 and 2016 were tied to medical expenses or illness-related income loss.
The upcoming hearing will focus on pricing transparency and whether more federal oversight is necessary.
Supporters of reform argue that requiring clearer pricing and stronger charity care standards could help reduce costs for patients and taxpayers.
Meanwhile, hospitals have pushed back on some findings. The American Hospital Association has argued that comparisons to Medicare rates can be misleading, saying government programs often underpay for care.
Lawmakers will weigh those claims as they examine how hospital pricing impacts patients, employers, and federal health care programs.