$19,616 — that’s the average cost nationwide of an employer-provided family health plan in 2018 according to recent employer study conducted by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation and reported in today’s Wall Street Journal. It’s pretty staggering to think about the fact that $19,616 is only the average and that there are more than a few folks across the country paying a lot more than the average.
The dirty little secret that’s fast becoming less of a secret is that hospitals charge health plans anywhere from 2 to 5 times more for hospital services than they charge Medicare.
Health Insurance Multiple Choice Question
Per the WSJ article, a “major driver of employer premium growth over the years has been the prices that insurers and employers pay for health care”.
For several years now, and possibly even more so today, the increasing prices for hospital-related services and hospital stays have been the major cost driver of insurance premiums for private insurance coverage. The prime drivers for the hospital price hikes include hospital pricing for emergency-room visits, surgical hospital admissions and administered drugs.
Hospital pricing is especially crazy. This is particularly true as it relates to the health plans that employers provide to the approximately 150+ million Americans that rely on employer-sponsored health plan coverage. The dirty little secret that’s fast becoming less of a secret is that hospitals charge health plans anywhere from 2 to 5 times more for hospital services than they charge Medicare.
We’ll be reporting more about this conundrum that is hospital pricing and what’s being done to combat or rein in the crazy pricing in upcoming posts. 
$19,616.