Resource challenges myths used to justify the fastest‑growing component of healthcare spending
WASHINGTON – March 5, 2026 – The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions urges employers and other healthcare purchasers and policymakers to take stronger action to address hospital prices—the primary driver of high and rising healthcare costs for America’s working families.
To support these efforts, the DC-based nonprofit released an updated edition of its widely used resource, Setting the Record Straight: A Challenge to Align Hospital Prices with Value. The report breaks down what’s actually driving hospital costs and dispels widely circulated misconceptions such as the idea that prices reflect the true cost of care or that staffing shortages and inflation are the primary culprits.
“Employers deserve to have a clear understanding of what’s truly driving hospital costs,” said Shawn Gremminger, National Alliance president and CEO. “When employers have the facts, they can set expectations around fair pricing, transparency and value-based contracting to push hospitals to bring down unjustifiable prices that erode wages and raise premiums.”
The updated report underscores that hospital prices far exceed Medicare benchmarks, not because of inflation, patient demand, or labor costs, but due to consolidation, market power, and a lack of transparency. These rising prices intensify healthcare inequities and disproportionately strain lower‑income communities.
Hospital consolidation and anticompetitive contracting practices continue to limit employer choice and fuel unsustainable price growth. As a result, employer-sponsored coverage—which insures most working Americans—is becoming increasingly difficult to afford.
As healthcare consumes a larger share of total compensation, fewer resources remain for wages, innovation, and workforce investment, undermining the competitiveness of American businesses and workers’ financial security.
As these trends will persist without meaningful price reform and greater accountability, the National Alliance encourages employers and other healthcare purchasers and policymakers to use this updated resource to push for meaningful transparency, accountability, and fair pricing across hospital systems.
The organization gratefully acknowledges support from Arnold Ventures for its Hospital Fair Price initiative which enables coalitions and employers/purchasers to challenge unsustainable hospital prices.
About National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
For more than 30 years, the National Alliance has brought together business coalitions and their employer and purchaser members to drive high-quality healthcare that enhances patient experience, promotes health equity, and improves outcomes while lowering costs. Its members represent public and private sectors, nonprofits, and labor unions that provide health benefits to over 90 million Americans—more than half of the employer-sponsored insurance market—spending over $850 billion annually. To learn more, visit nationalalliancehealth.org and connect on LinkedIn.
# # #
Note to editors: Accredited media are invited to attend the National Alliance’s spring Health Policy Summit on Tuesday, April 7 from 8:30 a.m.-noon ET at the Georgetown University Capitol Campus. The Summit brings together coalition partners, employers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to examine how federal health reforms shape the commercial market and the benefits employers provide to millions of working Americans.