News: Commercial plan spending for hospital care tops $200B in 2018, study finds; AHA disputes findings

The annual cost of hospital inpatient spending from commercially insured patients was more than $200 billion in 2018, according to a study from the UnitedHealthcare Group. The study calls for hospitals to lower price increases by two percentage points a year to rein in costs, FierceHealthcare reported.

The study found that from 2013-2017, inpatient hospital prices grew 19% while use overall declined by 5%. Physician prices grew 10% over that same time period. According to UnitedHealthcare, hospitals should keep price increases in line with physician offices to help control spelling. If the industry followed that recommendation over the next nine years, the insurer posits, hospital inpatient spending would be reduced by more than $50 billion in 2029 alone. 

The American Hospital Association (AHA) took issue with the study, however, saying that the report “uses cherry-picked data and omits important facts to paint a misleading picture.” Additionally, the AHA wrote in essence that UnitedHealthcare Group should take the plank out of their own eye and that their ultimate concern is “with their bottom line.”

The UnitedHealthcare analysis, the AHA wrote, also glossed over the most telling fact: Inpatient use is dropping. According to the AHA, the patients that do end up in the hospital are in more severe conditions, which increases the reimbursement associated with their care. Also, increased drug prices have put higher costs on hospitals (increasing 18.5% from fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2018).

Editor’s note: To read the full analysis from UnitedHealthcare Group, click here. To read the AHA’s response, click here. To read FierceHealthcare’s coverage of this story, click here.