LVBCH Joins Hospital Price Initiative
New Initiative from National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions to Address High Hospital Prices for Business and Families Across the State
Hospital prices are the leading driver of high and rising healthcare costs for America’s working families and the employers that provide them health benefits. To address the cost of healthcare across the Lehigh Valley and all of Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH) was selected as one of 15 regional business coalitions by the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions to participate in the Hospital Fair Price initiative.
Across the country, employers provide health coverage in the commercial market for more than 180 million people across the United States. Over the past several decades, hospitals and health systems have consolidated with little relief in prices for employers and working families. Today, American employers and purchasers in the commercial healthcare market pay more for inpatient and outpatient hospital care than anyone else in the world and on average more than two and a half times what Medicare pays for the same services.
“The average cost of health insurance for a family with employer-sponsored healthcare exceeds $22,000 per year and is a concern for employers and employees alike,” said Carl Seitz, President, LVBCH. “To catalyze change, LVBCH facilitates employers working together to leverage their market buying power. But we can’t do it alone. To level the playing field with an increasingly consolidated hospital market, we are asking key stakeholders to develop actionable steps to ensure families across the state can access hospital services at a fair price.”
LVBCH represents more than 200 of the region’s leading private and public employers that provide healthcare coverage to more than 300,000 lives. These employers, located throughout the US, with members located in every Pennsylvania county, US state, and territory, rely on LVBCH to advocate and educate on their behalf. LVBCH’s participation in the Hospital Fair Price Initiative supports the Coalition’s mission to provide access to high-quality and cost-effective healthcare through collective employer action, purchasing programs, educational resources, networking and partnerships.
As part of the Hospital Fair Price initiative, LVBCH and its fellow employer coalitions are taking steps to determine value and fairness in the biggest segment of the healthcare industry. To do this, LVBCH will convene stakeholders and constituents to answer the question, “What is fair hospital price in Pennsylvania?” and to work collaboratively toward results-oriented action focused on giving employers the tools they need to ensure fair prices for their employees and families.
About National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance) is the only nonprofit, purchaser-aligned organization with a national and regional structure dedicated to driving health and healthcare value across the country. Its members represent private and public sector, nonprofit, and union and Taft-Hartley organizations, and more than 45 million Americans, spending over $400 billion annually on healthcare. To learn more, visit nationalalliancehealth.org and connect on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).