CBO report issues report Yarmuth requested on health-care costs; he says Congress must do more to ease the burden

Yarmuth (WBKO image)

The Congressional Budget Office has issued a report requested by Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville on the major drivers of increases in health-care spending and the variation in health-care prices and costs. It is stull working on a study Yarmuth sought of mechanisms to hold down growth in spending.

The report, “The Prices That Commercial Health Insurers and Medicare Pay for Hospitals’ and Physicians’ Services,” examines potential reasons that the prices paid by commercial health insurers for hospitals’ and physicians’ services are higher, rise more quickly, and vary more by area than the prices paid by the Medicare fee-for-service program, Yarmuth's office said in a press release.

Yarmuth said in the release, “We know that our country and our economy are stronger when every American has access to quality, affordable health care. But CBO’s report finds that inefficiencies in our health-care system and market consolidation are driving up prices, forcing Americans to either forgo necessary coverage or face higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs, reduced benefits, or lower wages. Congress must do more to reduce this unacceptable burden on American families.”

Earlier, the CBO issued Yarmuth-requested reports on "Policies to Achieve Near-Universal Health Insurance Coverage" and "Key Design Considerations for Establishing a Single-Payer Health Care System."