Skyrocketing health insurance rates blamed on higher price of medical care

Health insurance plan

Rising costs from hospitals and other providers increase spending throughout downturn. Recent research is now showing that the heightened prices that were charged by outpatient centers, hospitals, and other healthcare providers were responsible for sending the cost of health insurance upward at twice the rate of inflation throughout the recession and economic struggle to recover. This was the case even as there was less consumption overall of medical care by patients. According to a Health Care Cost Institute report, In the case of outpatient surgery, emergency room visits, substance abuse…

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Health insurance price increases may slow next year, shrinking profits for smaller insurers

An analyst at Wedbush has released estimates that have shown that in 2012, there may be a slowing in the rising cost of health insurance, but that this may cause smaller insurers that concentrate on commercial coverage to achieve smaller profit margins. The Wedbush analyst, Sarah James, released a research note that showed that employer and insurer surveys have been indicating that price increases will be slower next year than they were in 2011, as a result of some of the health care reform elements having been implemented. Though this…

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