This new report is notable as this is the first time states have been rated based on work implementing policies that improve affordability, and the outcomes of those policies.
Last year, Utah Health Policy Project released
polling
conducted by
Altarum
's Healthcare Value Hub which showed health care affordability is a top financial concern among Utahns -
53% of adults report difficulty affording out of pocket health care costs.
Additionally, Utahns broadly agree, across the political aisle, that this is a top issue they want their policymakers to work on.
There is a great deal our legislators can do to make health care more affordable. The recent Medicaid expansion will help thousands of Utahns afford health care, but the increases in deductibles, resistance to solve surprise medical bill, and lack of effort to reduce low-value care, are huge barriers to affordability.
There is a strong impact that policy can have in alleviating high health care costs, as evidenced in this report. While there is not a single policy path that will achieve better affordability for every state, the states that have implemented policies toward that end are seeing results. This is true for states that have had traditionally higher costs, like Massachusetts.
More on the methodology can be found
here
.
