Kelly Gooch – August 12, 2019
The cost of hospital inpatient services for
privately insured individuals is on the rise, according to a new data brief by UnitedHealth Group.
An analysis conducted in 2019 of U.S.
commercial hospital inpatient claims from 2013 through 2017 showed that
hospital prices for inpatient services increased 19 percent, or about 4.5
percent annually, over the five-year period. Among common hospital inpatient
services, the average annual increase in hospital prices was greatest for
hypertension, at 6.5 percent.
Prices paid to physicians for providing
inpatient services also increased between 2013 and 2017, by 10 percent, or
about 2.5 percent annually, according to the data brief.
But UnitedHealth Group found that overall
increased prices for inpatient care did not correspond to increased use of
those services. Use of inpatient services delivered by hospitals and physicians
each decreased 5 percent between 2013 and 2017.
Based on data from HHS and CMS, as well as
National Health Expenditures Data and examination of commercial claims from
2018, UnitedHealth Group found the cost of hospital inpatient services for
privately insured individuals per year was more than $200 billion in 2018 and
estimated it will exceed $350 billion in 2029.
Read more about the analysis here.
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