Health insurance executives agree that the U.S. health care system is overpriced, wasteful, and confusing. And they also agree that those problems are someone else’s fault.
On Thursday, the CEOs of America’s largest health insurance companies appeared before Congress to both justify their current practices and push their visions for reshaping the health system. The leaders of UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Elevance Health, Cigna, and Ascendiun blamed the high prices of hospitals, doctors, and prescription drugs and reiterated their promises to make insurance approvals quicker and invest in “value-based care.”
“We are dissatisfied with the status quo in health care, and know we must all do better,” UnitedHealth CEO Steve Hemsley told members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. He then explained that health insurance is so expensive because hospital and drug spending “has soared at three times the rate of inflation.”
This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers
Unlock this article — plus daily intelligence on Capitol Hill and the life sciences industry — by subscribing to STAT+.
Already have an account? Log in
