“Reclaiming Affordability” is an op-ed series in partnership between the Independent Women and the Washington Examiner. Each day this week, a policy expert at Independent Women will tackle the top concern on the minds of voters this election cycle from a different angle, putting forth realistic solutions to the affordability crisis.
This past year, a family friend was diagnosed with cancer and received two positron emission topography (PET) scans — one before treatment and one after. Both of those scans were initially denied as medically unnecessary. Fortunately, both scans were covered after her doctors pushed back but not everyone is as lucky. My friend’s story illustrates what many Americans struggle with in healthcare.
Americans have been told for years that the only way to make healthcare more affordable is to spend more government money and create more rules, but we all know this doesn’t work. Each year, we pay more in premiums, have higher deductibles, and find greater difficulty in getting the care we need. Our system has become a maze that seems nearly impossible to rein in or hold accountable. However, the solutions are surprisingly simple. Rather than funding a broken system, American households deserve policies that make the healthcare system easier to navigate and give them autonomy to find the best health coverage and care for their needs and budgets.
CORPORATE HOSPITALS ARE DRIVING UP HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR THE REST OF US
In 2025, the average family spent nearly $27,000 on employer-sponsored health insurance premiums. Medical costs increase faster than overall inflation, and wages have stagnated, making it harder to keep up with out-of-pocket spending. Prices keep climbing despite years of attempts to bring them down. The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced subsidies, which were the cause of the longest government shutdown, didn’t lower premiums but hid the true cost. While the enhanced subsidies were in effect, premiums continued to rise by 3.4% in 2023, 6% in 2024, and 7% in 2025. Regulations have also added costs by requiring insurance to cover more services, such as the ACA’s 10 essential benefits or thousands of other state-level mandates.
Despite good intentions, these policies have done nothing to lower costs but have contributed to them. The subsidies, for example, were given directly to the insurance companies. This gave the insurers little incentive to keep prices low because higher premiums meant more federal money. With regulations increasing insurers’ costs, mechanisms such as forcing patients to get care from “in-network” providers and prior authorization for certain treatments became widely used in the 1980s and seem to be weaponized against us today — like with my friend.
Today, we have a system that is incredibly opaque. There are so many layers of rules, middlemen, and administrative practices that make the system extremely frustrating to navigate as a patient, and nearly impossible for policymakers and the general public to hold accountable. Prices keep rising simply because they can, and no one has the leverage to push back.
So, what if the answer isn’t more of the same policies that add to the complexity? Instead, we should make simple changes that put consumers in control. Imagine knowing how much your care would cost before receiving it, and even comparing prices across doctors and facilities. Or picking an insurance plan that truly fits your preferences, not because it is offered by your employer or state. Transparency and flexibility would make it so our healthcare system works best for us — not the industry — and gives us the leverage we need to hold them accountable to lower prices.
HOSPITALS ARE A PRIME SUSPECT IN THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
“Reclaiming Affordability,” a recent report by Independent Women outlines a few policies to build a patient-centered healthcare system. Strengthening and enforcing price transparency rules would give people clear price information and allow them to compare options for the 70% of inpatient and 90% of outpatient services that are considered shoppable. Instead of subsidizing the insurance companies, money should go directly to individuals and families, allowing them to choose plans or save for routine and future medical needs. This enables consumers to shop across state lines and forces insurers to compete on price. Health benefits should also be portable so workers can keep their chosen plan regardless of job changes, giving people — especially the growing gig‑economy workforce — true autonomy to select coverage that fits their needs without risk of losing flexibility.
If we want a healthcare system that is affordable and responsive to the people it serves, we must shift power away from the institutions that benefit from rising prices and toward the families who pay them. Policies that enact real transparency and choice would finally give Americans the ability to shop for care like they shop for everything else and take control of their budgets. These reforms aren’t complicated; they simply recognize that when consumers have control, competition increases and costs fall, making healthcare more affordable and sustainable.
Miranda Spindt is a healthcare policy analyst for Independent Women. Follow her on X @miranda_spindt.