Health Care Costs

The Center for American Progress researches and supports policies to lower health care costs and prices across the health care system and to make care more affordable for people when they need it. The following research and analyses outline opportunities to lower health care costs and improve affordability.

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The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Ravage Regions Won by Donald Trump While Giving Tax Breaks to the Rich Article
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunset.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Ravage Regions Won by Donald Trump While Giving Tax Breaks to the Rich

Cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and clean energy tax credits would devastate people in communities that voted for President Donald Trump.

House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill Would Make Health Care More Expensive for Americans With Medicare and Other Insurance Article
The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol building.

House Republicans’ Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill Would Make Health Care More Expensive for Americans With Medicare and Other Insurance

A new Center for American Progress analysis shows how House Republican health care cuts would cost many families with Medicaid, Medicare, ACA marketplace plans, and job-based coverage up to thousands of dollars per year in additional premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

New CBO Estimates Confirm Massive Rise in Uncompensated Care Costs Under One Big Beautiful Bill Act Article
A patient has their blood pressure checked at a medical clinic in Grundy, Virginia.

New CBO Estimates Confirm Massive Rise in Uncompensated Care Costs Under One Big Beautiful Bill Act

New projections from the Congressional Budget Office indicate the House-passed tax and budget bill would lead to 16 million people becoming uninsured, resulting in hospitals and other health care providers shouldering an estimated $36 billion in additional uncompensated care costs by 2034.

The Trump Administration’s Assault on Environmental Protections Will Give Polluters a Free Pass While Causing Millions of Asthma Attacks Report
Cars sit in traffic as the sun sets behind a veil of smog.

The Trump Administration’s Assault on Environmental Protections Will Give Polluters a Free Pass While Causing Millions of Asthma Attacks

The Trump administration’s plan to weaken clean air protections could cause more than 10,000 asthma attacks per day while cutting lifesaving asthma prevention programs and as House Republicans seek to slash pollution reduction efforts, clean technology investments, and essential health care coverage—all to give tax breaks to billionaires.

The Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill’s Health Care Cuts Would Drive Up Uncompensated Care and Threaten Vulnerable Hospitals Article
Staff members remove a sign following a press conference after House passage of the tax and spending bill.

The Big, ‘Beautiful’ Bill’s Health Care Cuts Would Drive Up Uncompensated Care and Threaten Vulnerable Hospitals

House Republicans’ proposals would lead to 14 million people becoming uninsured, forcing hospitals and other health care providers to foot the bill of $31 billion in additional uncompensated care costs by 2034.

CAP Testimony Before the House Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs and Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services In the News

CAP Testimony Before the House Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs and Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services

Emily Gee testified before subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee on how the Inflation Reduction Act has lowered health care and energy costs for American families while investing in a future powered by clean energy.

U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee

Emily Gee

How Congressional Republicans’ Health Care Plans Will Spike Health Insurance Premiums for Older Adults Article
The rising sun flares through the windows of the U.S. Capitol Dome.

How Congressional Republicans’ Health Care Plans Will Spike Health Insurance Premiums for Older Adults

Congressional Republican plans to slash Medicaid funding and allow the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to expire will significantly raise insurance costs for older Americans with marketplace coverage.

CAP Comments on Proposed Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule Article

CAP Comments on Proposed Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule

The Center for American Progress submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services opposing proposals that would raise health care costs, restrict eligibility, and limit enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage.

Natasha Murphy

CAP Comments on Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025 Article

CAP Comments on Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025

The Center for American Progress submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services supporting proposals to expand access to health care services and improve consumers’ plan shopping and enrollment experiences in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

Natasha Murphy

5 Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements Article
A hospital employee gives a tour of a patient room in Hugo, Colorado.

5 Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements

Medicaid work reporting requirements do not promote employment; they create red tape that takes health care away from eligible people, leaving them uninsured.

Natasha Murphy

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