Episode 971: The Hospital Cost Crisis
About this episode
Newt discusses the hospital cost crisis with Brian Blase, focusing on how government policies affect healthcare prices and competition.
Newt talks with Brian Blase, President of the Paragon Health Institute, about their new report, “The Hospital Cost Crisis: How Government Policies Drive Consolidation, Undermine Competition, and Fuel Soaring Prices.” Hospital prices have increased three times faster than inflation and more than twice as fast as worker wages since 2000, making rising hospital prices a major threat to middle-class families. Their discussion highlights that hospital care now totals about $1.6 trillion annually, roughly one-third of national health expenditures, and that large hospital systems deploy substantial lobbying resources, including over $115 million in federal lobbying in 2025 alone, to preserve favorable policies and block reforms. Blase explains how cost-based reimbursement in Medicare historically encouraged hospitals to increase costs, fueling administrative bloat and higher spending, a dynamic that still persists when higher hospital costs trigger higher government payments. He argues that Medicare’s centrally set prices and cost-based methodologies distort the entire healthcare market. Policies that pay more for the same service in a hospital than in a…
More episodes of Newt's World
- Episode 972: Congresswoman Elise Stefanik on “Poisoned Ivies”
- Episode 970: Founder’s Fire From 1776 to the Age of Trump
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Newt's World podcast page.