Study links soaring health care spending to higher insurance premiums
Growth in health care spending in the United States is driving increases in health insurance premiums, limiting people's access to care and contributing to wage reductions, job losses and rising inequality, according to a new study co-authored by Yale economist Zack Cooper.
A new study co-authored by Yale economist Zack Cooper links the rising cost of healthcare spending in the United States to the increase in health insurance premiums. The research, which analyzed state-level data on insurance premiums, health spending, and insurer markups from 2011 to 2024, found that rising spending accounted for 91% of the growth in premiums during the period.
Cooper, who directs the Health Care Affordability Lab at Yale, emphasized that efforts to address high insurance premiums should focus on making healthcare spending more affordable. The study, published in JAMA Health Forum, highlights that since 2011, private health insurance premiums have grown by 78%, double the rate of inflation over the same period.
Brief written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
