Coverage, Access, and Medicaid

A project of the RI Life Index, Rhode Island Voices is being launched by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and the Brown University School of Public Health to amplify the health perspectives of Rhode Island’s diverse communities.

Here’s just the tip of the iceberg: $722.50 for a nurse to push a drug into an IV. $21,500 for ten stitches. The prices charged by hospitals are exorbitant and rising. Private health insurance premiums paid by working age adults are rising rapidly. Many Americans skip necessary medical care, while those who do get treated can end up bankrupt. With U.S. health care spending reaching $4.5 trillion in 2022, finding ways to cut costs has become increasingly urgent.

Every health care model involves people doing their best to balance competing priorities in the face of limited resources. In other words, every system involves tradeoffs.