New Survey Data Highlights Continuing Concerns About Health Care Expenses Small Business for America’s Future, a national coalition of business owners and leaders, recently conducted a survey of…
Small Business for America’s Future, a national coalition of business owners and leaders, recently conducted a survey of Texas small business owners that provides critical insights into the challenges and perspectives surrounding small business healthcare expenses. The good news is that there is strong consensus among small business owners that these challenges can be addressed through legislative measures like price transparency (83%), site-neutral billing (78%), and regulating anti-competitive practices (88%).
New research from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy found that Houston-area hospitals are charging substantially different prices for the same service. Researchers compared prices at Houston area hospitals and found large differences for the same hospital stays and procedures, depending on the hospital, the location, and the insurance company, among other factors. The study’s author concluded, “It may be beneficial for Houstonians to call hospitals and shop around for the best prices.”
Hospitals are adding billions of dollars in facility fees to medical bills for routine care in outpatient centers they own. Once an annoyance, the fees are now pervasive, and in some places they are becoming nearly impossible to avoid, data compiled for The Wall Street Journal show. The fees are spreading as hospitals press on with acquisitions, snapping up medical groups and tacking on the additional charges.
A new study found as many as 69 million workplace-insured Americans were primarily self-paying for care, having not exceeded their deductible in 2023. Forty percent of workplace-insured Americans reported delaying care due to cost, which negatively impacted their mental health, workplace culture, and productivity. One in six respondents reported their work was affected due to a health issue they couldn’t afford to treat, 69% of whom admitted to being distracted by pain at work.
The non-profit health care research organization KFF reported in a poll that nearly 153 million Americans have job-based health insurance, the largest form of coverage by far. Over the last 10 years, insurance premium costs paid each year by employers and their workers have risen by nearly $8,000. According to the poll, many families said lowering their out-of-pocket health care costs is their top health care priority.
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Rudy Koski for Fox 7 – March 23, 2023 – New legislation could help lower health care costs by giving consumers more control. The Texas House Select-Health Care Reform committee…
Joe LaMantia III for the Rio Grande Guardian – April 12, 2023 – Texans enjoy living in a state that supports a free-market economy and the laws of…
Optimism is on the decline among small business owners, and reigning in the expenses and uncertainty related to health care could help turn that around. The National Federation…
New Survey Data Highlights Continuing Concerns About Health Care Expenses Small Business for America’s Future, a national coalition of business owners and leaders, recently conducted a survey of…
Small business is big in Texas. There are over 3 million small businesses in our state, with over 5 million employees and they contribute billions of dollars to…
