Reduce Health Care Costs by $767 Billion

On Tuesday, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) released our policy recommendations—Affordability Solutions for the Health of America—that address rising prices for health care services and prescription drugs and would reduce health care costs in the United States by $767 billion over 10 years. This week, I had the honor to speak with policymakers and opinion leaders at Punchbowl News ’ Townhouse Breakfast about ways to make health care more affordable for patients and encourage lawmakers to implement our recommendations to save billions of health care dollars, including reducing private insurance premiums by $298 billion over 10 years.

Health care costs are growing at unsustainable rates. The reason for this affordability crisis is clear—rising prices for health care services and prescriptions. From 2016 to 2020, the cost of health care services has risen at roughly double the rate of inflation. Additionally, Americans are paying 190% more for prescriptions than consumers in other high-income countries. These increases have a major impact on American families and their ability to afford health care because the rising prices of prescription drugs and medical care cause higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

I am proud to be a part of an organization that is committed to addressing the underlying cost of care so we can meaningfully lower health care costs rather than putting a band-aid on the problem. BCBSA’s Affordability Solutions for the Health of America tackles these root causes by:

• Improving competition among health care providers by making it easier to crack down on anti-competitive behavior, while also protecting patients by ensuring they’re not being overcharged for a medical service in a hospital when that same service would cost two to three times less in a different setting. 
• Increasing access to lower-cost, equally effective prescription drugs. Congress needs to remove the loopholes drug companies are taking advantage of so it’s easier for generic and biosimilar medicines—which cost less and are just as effective and safe as brand name drugs—to be available and accessible to patients.
• Ensuring patients receive the highest-quality health care at the right place at the right time. This can be done by transitioning away from fee-for-service payment models to ones that reward and reimburse providers for delivering safe, high-quality care and by promoting telehealth, data exchange and interoperability.

A better system of health requires not only good public policy but private-market solutions as well. I know that by working together we can build a better system of health where affordable, equitable care is available to every American.