Differences Between Public And Private Hospital Payment Rates Narrowed, 2012-16

Health Aff (Millwood). 2020 Jan;39(1):94-99. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00415.

Abstract

In 2000-12 payments for inpatient hospital stays, emergency department visits, and outpatient hospital care for privately insured patients grew much faster than payments for Medicare and Medicaid patients. This widening of private-public payment gaps slowed or even reversed itself in 2012-16.

Keywords: Costs and spending; Diseases; Emergency departments; Hospital care; Medicaid; Medical Expenditure Panel; Medicare; Private health insurance; health policy; payment.

MeSH terms

  • Ambulatory Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Ambulatory Care / trends
  • Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data
  • Hospitals, Private / statistics & numerical data*
  • Hospitals, Public / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Length of Stay / trends*
  • Medicaid / statistics & numerical data
  • Medicare / statistics & numerical data
  • Reimbursement Mechanisms* / statistics & numerical data
  • Reimbursement Mechanisms* / trends
  • United States