Affordability solutions for the health of America

We all agree health care is too expensive. The prices that hospitals and drug companies charge are driving up health care costs.

From 2000 to 2024, prices for medical care increased 40% faster than everyday prices, like groceries and gas. And that increases the cost of your premiums and co-pays.

The consequence:

• 4 in 10 Americans said they put off care because of cost.
• 3 in 10 U.S. adults have cut pills in half, skipped a dose or taken an over-the-counter drug instead because of the cost for prescription drugs.

We’re laser focused on affordability. For you.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s (BCBSA's) 2025 Affordability Solutions for the Health of America details $1 trillion—that’s trillion with a T—in potential savings over the next decade for patients, businesses and hardworking taxpayers:

• $522 billion in savings for the federal government

• $388 billion reduction in private insurance premiums

• $180 billion in consumer out-of-pocket costs

Where do we start?

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End unreasonable markups by corporate hospital systems

The problem: Corporate hospital systems are taking over smaller practices and prioritizing profits over patients. After the takeover, you often get the same care in the same location from the same doctors—but at much higher prices. With a simple name change—from a doctor’s office to a hospital outpatient department—they can now charge three times more for a routine x-ray and four times more for a steroid injection.

The solution: Implement fair and reasonable hospital billing. BCBSA's solution, which includes ending unreasonable markups by corporate hospital systems and passage of commonsense billing solutions, will save nearly $500 billion over 10 years.

Read more: A Root Cause of the Health Care Affordability Crisis

Combat hospital consolidation that leads to higher prices and fewer choices for patients

The problem: Hospital consolidation is a bad thing for patients. With less competition, studies show that prices go up 20%. Today, 75% of markets are considered highly consolidated. In rural areas, consolidation is becoming a crisis.

The solution: Crack down on corporate hospital systems taking over smaller, local hospitals to drive out competition and drive up prices. Implementing BCBSA’s solutions will save $78.5 billion over 10 years.

End big pharma's manipulation of patents

The problem: Big Pharma games the system to protect their monopolies. Through a scheme called “patent thicketing,” they delay access to lower-cost, equally effective generic drugs by filing numerous additional patents to extend the exclusivity of a brand-name drug. For example, the initial patent for one popular drug would have expired in 2016. Instead, the manufacturer obtained 75 patents, protecting its outsize profitability for another 18 years.

The solution: Policymakers can stop Big Pharma’s unfair business practices with more market competition, more patient choices and lower costs for consumers. BCBSA’s solutions to end patent thicketing, “pay for delay” and other tactics will save $324 billion over 10 years.