Employers Paid Hospitals 254% More Than Medicare, Study Says (1)

Employers and private insurers over a recent year-long period paid hospitals on average 254% of what Medicare would have paid for the same services at the same facilities, according to a new RAND Corp study.

Hospital service payments for the year 2022 in certain states like New York, Florida, and California had average relative prices that even reached beyond 300% of what Medicare would have paid, the pricing transparency report released Monday said.

The high prices employer plans pay hospitals contribute to the at-times hefty cost of providing health coverage for workers. The report cited data that said health-care premiums ...