peterson milbank

Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs

The Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs supports state-led efforts to make health care more affordable for everyone. Starting with setting a target for reasonable cost increases, states across the country are collecting data on their annual health care spending and analyzing it to find the cost growth drivers. With this information, everyone in the state who has a stake in health care can work together to identify community-wide solutions to improve affordability.

This program is a partnership between the Milbank Memorial Fund and the Peterson Center on Healthcare.

  • "To even begin looking at what's happening in health care spending on a state level rather than national is an enormous accomplishment. Washington has different trends, different players, and a different landscape than other states. A state-specific look at the data is critical. "

    Emily Brice, JD

    Deputy Director, Northwest Health Law Advocates, Washington

  • "The health care cost growth benchmark is an important initiative. We have to be concerned with cost growth in health care because we need health care to be sustainable, affordable, and accessible without impacting quality. I believe that everyone feels they have a stake in that outcome, and that they can contribute to the goals of the initiative."

    Joanne Borduas, MSN, MBA

    Chief Executive Officer, Community Health and Wellness Center, Connecticut

  • "The cost growth benchmarking initiative has been thoughtful. I think they’ve tried to be very considered in their approach. They've gotten buy-in from both providers and payers and made it a collaborative effort. It is a step in the right direction."

    Al Charbonneau

    Executive Director, Rhode Island Business Group on Health

Highlights

  • Guides to Hospital Financial Analysis

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  • Video: A State-Led Approach to Improving the Affordability of Health Care

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  • Leveraging Health Care Cost and Affordability Data: A Suite of Analytic Resources 

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  • Resource Library

    Resource Types

    Current Topics

    Locations

    News Article

    State Health Care Cost Growth Target Values

    April 2024
    Michael Bailit
    A table showing state target values for 2024 and beyond, as available. More

    Blog Post

    Collaborating to Spotlight Health Care Cost Drivers and Solutions

    April 2024
    Rachel Block
    Slower systemwide health care spending growth could allow employers to put more dollars into wages or invest it elsewhere. More

    Publication

    Guides to Hospital Financial Analysis

    April 2024
    Christine Haran
    A new series of Peterson-Milbank analytics support resources offers insight into how to use publicly available data sources to examine the financial condition of hospitals, as well as identify opportunities to reduce health care spending growth while avoiding any unintended consequences that might result. More

    News Article

    Webinar on Using Hospital Financial Analysis to Inform Policies on Affordability and Access

    March 2024
    Christine Haran
    Join a Peterson-Milbank for Sustainable Health Care Program webinar, Leveraging Hospital Financial Analyses to Inform State Policy, on April 9, 2024, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET, for a look at the forthcoming “Guide to Hospital Financial Analyses,” and a discussion with state leaders who are using this data to inform their understanding of their health care markets and potential policy responses. More

    News Article

    Video: A State-Led Approach to Improving the Affordability of Health Care

    February 2024
    Christine Haran
    This short video explains health care cost growth targets, which set a spending goal that health industry stakeholders commit to in order to identify policies that will make health care more affordable. More

    News Article

    Prescription Drug Spending Rising at an Unaffordable Rate Despite Drug Rebates

    December 2023
    Christine Haran
    Even after accounting for rebates, prescription drug spending has continued to grow at an unaffordable rate, according to a new analysis of three states with health care cost growth targets, More

    Blog Post

    The Impact of COVID-19 on Health Care Spending in Three States: A Health Care Cost Driver Analysis

    December 2023
    Christopher Romero-Gutierrez and Michael H. Bailit
    nalysis of commercial insurer date in all-payer claims databases finds that increases in use of medical services and drug price increases in 2021 drove higher spending. More

    News Article

    Integrating Health Equity into Health Cost Containment Efforts

    November 2023
    Mary Louise Gilburg
    Large shares of people with health insurance say that they cannot afford needed health care, according to a new affordability report from the Commonwealth Fund that offers policy recommendations for each insurer type. Delays in receiving care or missed care due to costs is making them sicker, the survey finds. Other research finds ongoing disparities […] More

    Publication

    Leveraging Health Care Cost and Affordability Data: A Suite of Analytic Resources

    November 2023
    Nathan Pauly, Lauren Sears, Amy Zhan and Kevin McAvey
    The Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs had developed a suite of analytic resources on health care cost and affordability data to provide states with direction on how to access, integrate, and analyze health care data resources. More

    Blog Post

    Engaging Employers and Consumers in State-Led Health Care Affordability Efforts

    October 2023
    Mary Louise Gilburg and Christine Haran
    3 Takeaways:   For years, health care costs have been rising much faster than overall inflation and wages. This unsustainable trajectory has led to cost burdens for employers and workers, including ballooning insurance premiums, with employer-sponsored family premiums jumping 20% in the last five years and 43% in the past decade.   In response, several states are […] More