July 01, 2025 by addrc
Harold Robert Meyer and The ADD Resource Center
Why are people without medical insurance or those not financially secure charged more for covered services than insurance companies, which are making millions of dollars in profits?
Key Points
Research shows uninsured individuals often pay more for medical services due to a lack of negotiated discounts. Hospitals charge full rates to uninsured patients, while insurers secure lower rates through bargaining power. Some hospitals charge excessively high prices to uninsured patients, which may be perceived as gouging, though recent studies show variations. This controversy highlights systemic issues in healthcare pricing, with significant financial implications for vulnerable populations.
Why Uninsured Patients Pay More
Uninsured patients typically face higher charges for medical services compared to what insurance companies pay. This happens because hospitals charge uninsured individuals the full, undiscounted rates, while insurance companies negotiate lower rates due to their large customer base. This disparity leads to significant financial burdens, with 61% of uninsured adults going without needed care due to cost, according to a 2024 KFF report.
Research Findings
A study by Gerard F. Anderson, PhD, published in Health Affairs (2007), found that uninsured and self-pay patients were charged 2.5 times more for hospital care than insured patients and over 3 times the Medicare-allowable costs. The study reported a charge-to-cost ratio of 3.07 for self-pay patients, meaning for every $100 in Medicare-allowable costs, hospitals charged $307. This ratio was highest at for-profit hospitals (4.10) compared to public hospitals (2.49).
A 2015 Washington Post investigation highlighted that 50 hospitals, mostly for-profit, charged uninsured patients more than 10 times the actual cost of care, with some charging up to 12.6 times the cost. KFF reports that hospitals frequently charge uninsured patients two to four times what health insurers and public programs pay for hospital services.
Lack of Negotiated Discounts
Uninsured patients do not benefit from the discounted rates that insurance companies and government programs like Medicare negotiate with hospitals. Instead, they are charged the full rates set by hospitals, often based on the hospital’s chargemaster, which lists standard prices for services.
Insurance Companies’ Bargaining Power
Insurance companies leverage their large customer bases to negotiate lower rates with hospitals. A 2022 Trinity College study found significant variation in payer-specific negotiated rates, with insurers often securing rates lower than the cash prices charged to uninsured patients. However, for nearly half of the services analyzed (47%), cash prices were lower than or the same as median insurance-paid prices.
Insurance companies’ ability to negotiate stems from their profitability—they collect premiums from policyholders and invest these funds, generating profits that enable favorable contracts with providers. This contrasts sharply with uninsured individuals, who lack leverage to negotiate and must pay the full amount, often leading to medical debt. KFF reports that 62% of uninsured individuals have healthcare debt, compared to 44% of insured individuals.
Regional and Institutional Variations
Pricing disparities vary by region and hospital type. Anderson’s study found that states like California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania had the highest markups (four times Medicare-allowable costs), while states like Idaho, Maryland, Montana, Vermont, and Wyoming had lower markups. Nonprofit and government hospitals, which serve more uninsured patients, were more likely to offer lower cash prices.
Financial Implications
For uninsured individuals, the financial implications are severe. They pay 40% of their care out-of-pocket and often face unaffordable medical bills that can lead to debt, credit issues, or bankruptcy. A 2020 estimate indicated that 18% of U.S. people had medical debt.
Are Hospitals Gouging the Public?
The question of whether hospitals are gouging uninsured patients is contentious and depends on the definition of “gouging” as unfair or excessive pricing.
Evidence of Gouging
Several studies document instances of hospitals charging uninsured patients significantly higher rates:
- The 2015 Washington Post investigation found hospitals charging uninsured patients more than 10 times the actual cost of care, with markups as high as 12.6 times the cost
- A 2017 Reuters article reported that uninsured ER patients were charged four times what Medicare pays
- A 2005 CBS News article characterized these practices as “price gouging”
Recent Trends and Counterarguments
More recent studies suggest a shift, with some hospitals offering lower cash prices to uninsured patients. A 2023 Johns Hopkins study found that for 47% of 70 common shoppable services, cash prices were lower than or the same as median insurance-paid prices, particularly in nonprofit and government hospitals. The 2022 Trinity College study found that 60% of negotiated rates for insured patients were higher than cash rates.
Despite these findings, the overall system remains opaque and inequitable. Even when cash prices are lower than insured rates, they may still be higher than the actual cost of care, and uninsured patients may struggle to afford them.
Proposed Solutions
Several solutions have been proposed to address this disparity, including providing health insurance to all, charging a single flat rate for services, or establishing maximum rates through government intervention. Recent policies include the federal Price Transparency Act (effective January 2021), requiring hospitals to publish pricing information online, and The Transparency in Coverage Act (January 2023), requiring insurers to post price information.
Conclusion
The evidence shows uninsured patients and those not financially secure are charged more due to the absence of negotiated discounts. This disparity reflects broader systemic issues in healthcare pricing, with significant financial implications for vulnerable populations. While recent studies show some hospitals offering lower cash prices, historical and specific cases of excessive markups (up to 12.6 times cost) suggest some hospitals do engage in practices that can be seen as gouging, particularly for uninsured patients.
Key Citations
- Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs | KFF
- Hospitals Charge Uninsured More Study | Johns Hopkins
- Key Facts about the Uninsured Population | KFF
- Hospitals Often Charge More to Insured Than Uninsured for Same Services | Trinity College
- Study Finds Hospitals’ Cash Prices for Uninsured Often Lower Than Insurer-Negotiated Prices | Johns Hopkins
- KFF Health Care Debt Survey Report | KFF
- Why Some Hospitals Can Get Away With Price Gouging Patients | Washington Post
- Uninsured in U.S. Charged Four Times What Medicare Pays for ER Visit | Reuters
- Hospitals Price Gouging Uninsured | CBS News
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