By Atul Grover, MD, PhD, Executive Director, AAMC Research and Action Institute, and Theresa Dreyer, MPH, Manager, Value-Based Care, AAMC
Summary: This brief defines the “cost problem” in health care and which public policies can achieve meaningful and realistic solutions. It highlights the challenges of separating costs, or prices, and charges and of low Medicare and Medicaid payment rates — and the high payment burden ultimately borne by patients and employers.