Health Care Cost and Access Challenges Persist: Initial Findings from HSC's 2007 Site Visits

Originally published by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), 2007.

Initial Findings from HSC's 2007 Community Site Visits

Initial findings from HSC's 2007 round of site visits to nationally representative communities confirmed that health care cost and access challenges were continuing to mount. Across the communities studied, health care costs remained on a growth trajectory that substantially exceeded overall economic growth, employers were implementing increasingly aggressive cost-sharing strategies, and access to care was deteriorating for both insured and uninsured populations.

Hospital consolidation was continuing to reshape local markets, giving health systems greater pricing power in negotiations with health plans and reducing the competitive pressures that might otherwise restrain cost growth. Physician practices were increasingly aligning with hospitals, either through employment arrangements or contractual affiliations, as the economics of independent practice became more challenging. Safety net providers reported growing strain from rising demand, workforce shortages, and uncertain funding. These cross-cutting trends, observed across diverse communities, pointed to systemic challenges that could not be addressed through local solutions alone and strengthened the case for national policy action.

Sources and Further Reading

Center for Studying Health System Change, "Health Care Cost and Access Challenges Persist: Initial Findings from HSC's 2007 Site Visits" (2007).