Charleston, WV – More than half of West Virginians have delayed or skipped health care because of cost, and nearly 65% say they’ve experienced one health-care affordability burden.
Most residents say future costs keep them worried, according to the Healthcare Value Hub.
At the federal level, said Kendall Strong, associate director of the Bipartisan Policy Center, which recently launched a new initiative aimed at tackling tough questions on health-care affordability nationwide, there’s recently been a shift toward looking at hospital and physician spending and “values-based” payment.
“So less paying providers on a fee-for-service system,” Strong said, “and really trying to look at, well, what’s the outcome for these patients.”
Rising health care costs also continue to put pressure on employers and small businesses. Ballooning costs are also one of the main drivers of rising deficits, straining federal budgets and threatening fiscal sustainability for taxpayers, according to the center.
Strong said prescription drug prices, insurance market design, hospital and physician costs, and administrative burdens are all factors that could be examined for potential cost-cutting changes “where reforms would actually target what patients are paying and what they’re seeing coming out of their wallet.”
Federal spending on hospitals increased from more than $940 billion in 2014 to nearly $2 trillion in 2024. Experts say including exorbitant prices charged by hospitals, site-of-service differentials, reduced competition and an overall aging population that needs more care are partly responsible for the spending increase.
