Employers play a critical role in providing health benefits to more than half of the American population, thereby financing a significant portion of the U.S. health care system. Not only do they pay for health benefits for employees, they also select which health plans to offer in their employee benefits. To administer and design these benefits, employers often rely on third-party administrators, brokers, and consultants. But employers usually have little insight into how the costs of their health benefits compare to what other employers are paying.
In each successive round of this multi-part study, RAND has worked with data from employers and other sources to shed light on the relative prices for most hospitals in all 50 states. In Rounds 4 and 5, employers and All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs) have helped RAND to increase the number of hospitals and amount of claims data under analysis.
While the Round 5 results include analysis from the most hospitals and APCDs yet, there is still more work to be done to expand understanding of hospital prices nationwide. If you're interested in participating in a potential Round 6, please share your contact information on our Contact Us page. For more information on what participation entails, visit the FAQ page.
