Healthcare costs keep rising, but what’s driving those increases? In this episode, Stacey Richter speaks with Dr. Vivian Ho, a health economist at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine, to break down the real reasons behind skyrocketing commercial insurance premiums.

• Are insurance premiums rising faster than wages—and why does it matter?
• What’s the biggest driver of premium increases? (Spoiler: It’s hospital prices.)
• Are hospital price hikes justified by rising costs—or is something else at play?

Dr. Ho shares data-backed insights on hospital consolidation, executive incentives, and how health system pricing impacts self-insured employers and plan sponsors. If you’re a healthcare executive or a jumbo employer managing benefits, this episode is a must-listen.

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05:12 Are insurance premiums going up?05:59 What is the disparity between cost of insurance and wage increases?06:21 LinkedIn post by Byron Hugley.06:25 Article by Michael Strain.06:46 How much have insurance premiums gone up for employers versus employees?09:06 Chart showing the cost to insure populations of employees and families.10:17 What is causing hospital prices and insurance premiums to go up so exponentially?12:53 Article by (and tribute to) Uwe Reinhardt.13:49 EP450 with Marilyn Bartlett, CPA, CGMA, CMA, CFM.15:28 Are razor-thin operating margins for hospitals causing these rising hospital prices?16:56 Collaboration with Marilyn Bartlett and the NASHP Hospital Cost Tool.19:47 What is the explanation that hospitals give for justifying these profits?23:16 How do these hospital cost increases actually happen?27:06 Study by Zack Cooper, PhD.27:50 Who typically makes up a hospital board, and why do these motivations incentivize hospital price increases?30:12 EP418 with Mark Cuban and Ferrin Williams, PharmD, MBA.33:17 Why is it vital that change start at the board level?