Report: Employers, Insurers Pay Hospitals Drastically more than Medicare Does

Employers and insurers are paying far more in hospital costs than they would if they paid at rates comparable to Medicare, a new RAND report found

Employers and insurers are paying far more in hospital costs than they would if they paid at rates comparable to Medicare, a new RAND report found.

In its new hospital pricing report, RAND examined hospital prices from 2018 through 2020, so it includes the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, employers and private insurers paid 224% of what Medicare would have paid in 2020. Prices were fairly stable over the three-year span, researchers found.

The RAND researchers found that prices for COVID-19 hospitalization mirrored prices for inpatient admissions overall. COVID-19 hospitalization prices averaged 241% of Medicare.

The authors said the…– Read Article –