Select Committee opens two-day hearing on why U.S. health care costs keep rising

The Select Committee on Health Care Affordability convened for a two-day hearing to gather neutral testimony on why health care costs in the United States have grown rapidly in recent decades. Chair (role) urged members and witnesses to focus on data and the history of spending before debating policy options, saying the session's purpose was diagnosis rather than prescription.

Witnesses from academic and policy organizations highlighted hospital prices, consolidation and drug pricing as principal drivers. "Rising healthcare spending in the U.S. is killing the American dream," said Zach Cooper, an economist at Yale, summarizing the economic stakes of higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Committee members pressed witnesses for data on international comparisons, the impact of mergers on prices, and whether increased prevention could materially slow long-run spending growth.

Why it matters: witnesses argued that hospital price growth has outpaced wages and inflation and, through employer-sponsored insurance, has translated into higher premiums and reduced take-home pay for workers. The committee paused for the day and recessed to continue panels on hospitals, insurance and prescription drugs the next morning.