Pages from the United Healthcare website shown on a computer screen, featuring the company logo and navigation menu
UnitedHealth has blamed tariffs for some of its premium rises © Patrick Sison/AP
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US health insurers, reeling from slumping share prices, are raising insurance premiums by the most in 15 years, adding to fears that American consumers are struggling under the weight of high costs.
One of the insurance companies, UnitedHealth, has cited tariffs from President Donald Trump’s trade wars as a reason for the increases.
The cost of companies’ health insurance plans for employees is expected to jump by an average of 6.5 per cent in 2026, the biggest increase in 15 years, according to a report by Mercer. For people who buy health insurance on government exchanges, the median increase for 2026 is 18 per cent — more than double last year’s 7 per cent rise, according to KFF, a non-profit health policy research group.
These insurance increases come as Americans are facing higher household expenditures. A National Federation of Independent Business report from July said one-third of companies plan to increase prices, the highest reading since March last year. US utilities are pushing for $29bn in rate rises, a 142 per cent increase over the same period a year ago. The August report for US consumer prices will be published next week.
Centene, which is the third-worst performer so far this year in the S&P 500, is under fire from Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders for its cost increases. Earlier this month, she blasted the company for proposing to raise health insurance premiums by up to 54 per cent.
“Arkansans are tired of getting outrageous bills from multibillion-dollar insurance companies,” Sanders said, calling on the state’s insurance commissioner to reject Centene’s price increase.
In Maryland and Oregon, UnitedHealth has said it is increasing certain insurance rates by 2.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively “to account for uncertainty regarding tariffs” as well as the costs of returning pharmaceutical production to the US. And in Ohio, UnitedHealth is increasing an insurance risk margin by 0.5 per cent due to tariff risks. UnitedHealth made the tariffs references in regulatory filings to the states.
The tariffs’ uncertainty has forced insurance companies to raise rates, and “the consequences of this are consumers have to pay that extra cost”, said Matt McGough, a policy analyst at KFF. “They foot the bill of this uncertainty.” 
People might not expect tariffs to show up in their healthcare costs, “but all signs from insurers is that they are”, he said.
Minnesota-based UnitedHealth declined to comment. Its shares are down 38 per cent so far this year, and it is also one of the worst performers in the S&P 500 index. The company’s filings to federal regulators this year have not mentioned tariffs as a risk. Instead, the company has said rising healthcare costs have eaten into its earnings. The company is also facing a criminal investigation into its Medicare billing practices.
UnitedHealth’s tariff-related cost increases are associated with insurance offered under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as Obamacare. About 24mn Americans relied on the ACA for health insurance this year, but tax benefits subsidising the cost of ACA insurance expire at the end of this year. As a result, US insurance companies are worried they will lose healthy patients and will be stuck paying for care for people who need expensive care, KFF has reported.
Centene did not respond to requests for comment. Its stock is down 52 per cent in 2025.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025. All rights reserved.

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Republicans hurt Americans today more than guns and drugs.
Tariffs? I’m surprised they don’t blame AI.
Or blame immigrants. Oh wait…
So the $36 billion ‘saved’ from tax cuts and jobs act did not offset the tariff impact? Meanwhile stock buy backs and corporate profits are at an all time high. Think trumps base will wake up? Quelle surprise, not!
“US insurance companies are worried they will lose healthy patients and will be stuck paying for care for people who need expensive care”

Isn’t that fundamental to the concept of insurance in any field? If you’re not willing to support that, then scrap insurance altogether
Health care is good but expensive in the USA due to high tech and needless tests and procedures. They need to generate more revenue from all the expensive machines they have installed. Importantly, most $ are spent on diabetes, arthritis and heart disease, all caused by the junk food turned our by the food industry. And of course we have an obesity crisis which is now being treated by expensive GLP drugs. There is a symbiotic relationship between the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry. One is trying to treat the diseases caused by the other. All good for profits but not good for the people.
It’s also expensive because the medical profession is a cartel that controls supply to fatten up their wealth. Doctors are just as greedy as the lawyers they love to hate.
The tariffs’ uncertainty has forced insurance companies to raise rates, and “the consequences of this are consumers have to pay that extra cost”
But, but, I thought the foreign countries paid for the tariffs?

I heard a guest on Bloomberg this morning arguing that tariffs are a nothing burger on inflation. Gotta love Maga logic.

Still, it would have been great if the article actually explained the price transmission mechanism. I'm assuming it's (expected) higher prices for tariffed drugs but it's not mentioned. It mentioned a concomitant effect: repatriating production, but was silent on the main effect alluded to in the article.
The US: Great, if you don't get sick or have any accidents; great if you accept additives in food that can make you sick; great if you can cope with the idea that your children could get shot at school; great if you think you can pay someone to get you into heaven; great if your water supply is contaminated
A broken system.
Like for like comparison between US and UK, and not even UK NHS which is free, albeit hard to access at times. A dental hygienist visit to scale and clean in the US - $2,200. Comparable visit to a UK dentist - $100. Practitioners taking insurance for a ride who then take companies and patients for a ride.
Total untrue. It's $250.
Sigh, why do you non Americans exaggerate so badly?
I pay approx $100 too for a clean. It’s not a flash place 😂
great if the NHS could export into this market given that it delivers care at half the price - that's some PPP I could get on board with - the socialist behemoth making money from the capitalists, rather than the other way round
Could we keep our tax rates or would our taxes have to go up to pay for it? Don't get me wrong, if the NHS can come and provide healthcare at 1/2 the price paid for by British tax payers I'm down with it, lol.
We're gonna win so much you may even get tired of winning and you'll say please please it's too much winning we can't take it anymore.
These increases ate outrageously profit driven and unacceptable. The system in the US for both medical and home insurance is getting to the point of unaffordable.
It would have been good if the article had explained in greater detail how tariffs increased costs for health care. Now it sort of implies it’s just an excuse to recover profit margins (and share prices).
Agreed, the logic in that last paragraph is wonky.
The Trump base the working class believe short-term pain for long-term gain.The base of the Trump movement is comprised heavily of European working class and middle class settler descendants. Trump is an anti working class leader. The Trump base, the working class base, they are the co-author of their own misfortune. You can't maintain a Democracy if you destroy the middle and working class. The rich get wealth. The poor and working class get scapegoats.
Every paragraph in this article refers to something that is desperately wrong with the US Healthcare System
Rising unemployment, skyrocketing insurance premiums, and high interest rates — I wonder how long before Trump finds himself in serious trouble.
He will blame Epstein.
What are Americans buying insurance for? Your medical industry has been completely slaughtered. Speak to any doctor, it will take generations to ever rebuild it, if ever. Overseas is the only way to go, probably cheaper even factoring in the travel costs.
We need a different system. Kaiser Permanente would be that system. United Health is nothing but a profit making scheme at the expense of patients and doctors.
The midterms are going to be a slaughter.
Yes, if they're even held, and fairly at that.
There wont be midterms. No political party who opening destroy every aspect of a country and then have an election. Elections will be suspended by some "war". Speak to any scholar in authoritarianism and elections are done for the US.
lol okay tinfoil hat man.. let's chat next year at this time
Stop buying insurance. Problem solved.
Yes and when it's an emergency and you are rushed to hospital and end up with a $2m bill. What then?
You get enrolled in Medicaid usually.
All working people have to have insurance and older people Medicare.
We will see if the ACA goes into a death spiral. Losing lots of healthy patients will raise premiums for the sick and they will not be able to afford it. This will leave only the seriously ill and the companies will be forced to exit the program. That’s probably the Trump plan.
Premiums are going up for employer plans too. My employer is paying 10% more this year. At some point it becomes unsustainable and employers will simply drop health insurance. The GOP won't be able to hide behind the "but Obama" line much longer - he hasn't been president in almost a decade.
Until someone can draw a clear line between "tariffs" and healthcare costs, which are primarily driven by services that must be provided in state, by providers licensed in that state, I am calling BS. Imported cotton swabs are not a major component of healthcare prices.
Lots of consumables, and some equipment are imported. The pharma component is also going to drive up costs.
Don't worry, tariffs have deeply confused Trump, too.
(Edited)
Most of the extremely expensive scan machines, etc etc etc are made of raw materials that have been slaughtered by tariffs. Plus many machines just arent made in the US and never will be. Its going to be a annihilation of the healthcare industry and every single doctor knows this.
(Edited)
FYI:
Some actual and current Medicare current numbers (FYI Per person so x 2 for a retired couple)
-Part B (hospital coverage) $185/mo
- Suplemental $222.5/mo
- Part D (medications) $80mo
- Income related addition $185/mo
Total: $672 X 2 per month or $1,345/mo
Additionally: - Dental $39.78/mo per person -- maximum $1,500 covered.
- Eye glasses and hearing aids are not covered.
And that does not include any Medicare Advantage "supplemental" insurance that often gets pushed.
Again Kaiser Permanente Medicare advantage. I pay no monthly out of pocket. Drugs minimal ($8 average). Recent broken bones, 2 week rehab stay, home nursing, PT, OT, hospital bed, wheel chair…$450. Kaiser is a not-for-profit integrated health care organization. Huge in California, it trains many of its own employees, builds hospitals, and gives excellent care. Integrated and organized for patients. The for-profit, private equity infected health care in places on the U.S. is a scandal.
Thank you Donals, without you the price rises would have been bigly worse!!!
Americans are hypochondriachs and poor people are always going to the hospital because they want attention.
Why do tariffs on foreign goods raise the cost of US healthcare? Is it simply supply chain? Or more complex than that?
The companies report that they are uncertain regarding the cost of pharmaceuticals, which the administration has threatened with heavy tariffs.
UnitedHealth must have a short memory
pretty bizzare that it wasnt even mentioned in the article
Sarah Huckabee Sanders should give her head a wobble and blame Trump for this medness. Utter economic illiteracy.
No, she will blame care for trans kids.
That isn't a rhing
If the consumers of US healthcare don’t wish to pay they are free to do so like anyone purchasing insurance - anyone who doesn’t like it is a commie etc.
Rising health-insurance premiums give new meaning to cost of living!
Racketeering … one understands Luigi
An army of L***is is needed. 😬
American adult obesity rate is 42% compared with 26% for UK. People are going to die younger and their health care costs are going to be greater.
The obesity is from the copious amounts of junk food eaten from grocery stores and from junk food restaurants such as McDonalds, Domino's Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Most of these obese American adults do not exercise. Many Americans 60 years after warning labels were put on cigarettes still smoke.

American life expectancy is shorter and healthcare much more expensive thanks to lifestyle choices of Americans.

Those parts of the country such as the Southeast have the highest obesity rates and the highest rates for smoking.

So Americans die younger and are far more costly to insure.

But as a healthy American that exercises and watches the food I eat (and the quantity) I'd much prefer our American healthcare system over any health system in the world.
Have you ever used another health system to know ? I have and other systems are very comparable in quality of care but the US system costs at least 50% more and the administrative burden on patients with the insurers and various intermediaries is even worse.
(Edited)
I have used NHS and Israel.
The US has far greater access to MRI, CT, imaging studies and specialists than other health systems. In Canada there are long waiting lists to have many surgical procedures.

It is the high utilization rates from those people with unhealthy lifestyles that leads to the high cost of insurance which occurs only until age 65.

If people chose healthy lifestyles, then they would not need to see the doctor as much as a population. We all pay higher insurance rates for the lifestyle choices of our fellow Americans.
Fun fact: Many people who eat well, exercise and don't smoke or drink still end up with chronic health conditions, serious illnesses, injuries or disabilities. We are all one second away from being "a burden" on the health care system/insurance carrier.
Rather than judge, be grateful that you apparently are one of the fortunate people who haven't yet had their body turn against them or suffered a life changing accident and give grace to the people who iare struggling to overcome or live with a medical condition or disability.
Impossible. D is eternally a judge and has the DELUDED belief that everything is controllable. Reductio ad absurdum. Everything, LITERALLY, everything is diet.

Lacks capacity to even imagine medical conditions beyond the limited. Try not to waste your time. Pointless exercise. Quite literally, believes everything to be related to dietary choices.

E pluribus unum. Out of many, ONE. We get D's uninformed drivel. Happy, happy, joy, joy !
Several decades ago there were few people who were obese and at higher levels of obesity. That change is from lifestyle choices of lack of physical activity and eating large portion sizes of unhealthy junk foods and fast foods.
People are still smoking even though warning labels have been on cigarettes in America for 60 years.

You said not one piece of information. People don't exercise, they are not physically active and they eat junk food diets in large portion sizes. They still smoke cigarettes 60 years after there were healthy warning labels.
Unless unlucky with genes, most people would develop chronic diseases when they are on Medicare, not when they are younger.

The rise in obesity is only in the past few decades, people were not this big in America according to health statistics and it is from lifestyle.
Those that are unlucky with genes would not be having a significant impact on health insurance rates.

Rather than judge, be grateful that you apparently are one of the fortunate people who haven't yet had their body turn against them
It comes from effort of exercising -- aerobic, weights, and high intensity. It comes from only occasionally eating junk food but mostly eating healthy foods.
The US system is one with a shared risk pool. Those WITH insurance pay for the care of those WITHOUT insurance.

It is called cost shifting. Someone with insurance pays $20 for an acetaminophen tablet so that the person in the next bed can receive uncompensated care and the hospital can stay open in that community to serve everyone.

The price of admission. Since Reagan passed EMTALA as a law, every emergency department has to do the BARE MINIMUM of doing a medical screening exam on every human who requests evaluation.

They may not get further care, it depends on the severity of their condition, but every human who presents, at a minimum, gets seen by a medical provider. That medical screening exam for EVERYONE does not come for free.

People with insurance pay for the homeless guy who falls and breaks his ankle and needs to go to the OR for a washout and a pin. The homeless guy pays nothing. Gets a free surgery from the orthopedic surgeon, antibiotics, pain meds, and an overnight stay.

All of that gets paid for by the person WITH insurance. Just how it works. Cost shifting 101.
The major cause of the increase in chronic disease is from people no longer being physically active, getting exercise, and of large portion sizes of chips, cokes, cookies, cakes, McDonalds, Domino's Pizza, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. American continue to smoke 60 years after warning labels were put on cigarettes.
These lifestyle choices make our insurance costs so high.
Have you tried the French? Seriously.
Oh wait Magats I thought you said consumers wouldn’t have to pay tariffs and companies would eat it? When will you admit you were duped and wrong?
Pharma owns the foreign production facilities, so there is no one else to “eat the tariffs”. Those costs will be passed on, and not just to the patients that use them. Insurance will spread the costs across all of the insured.
(Edited)
Here in Australia the government kept the health insurance premiums artificially low,to keep the public happy.

To survive the health funds kept the reimbursements to hospitals low.

As a result Healthscope our second biggest private hospital owner is now in administration.

The reality is that someone has to pay.

Trying to squeeze efficiencies out of an already under resourced system staffed by stressed and broken doctors and nurses is not going to work.
Best estimates are that Trump’s cuts will cause 300 US hospitals to close.
On the bright side, tens of thousands of MAGA voters will not survive until the next general election.

Choices have consequences. Life is about choices. Make good ones.
"...a lot of MAGA is on Medicaid."

~ Steve Bannon

Based on our payments, the purported increases are smaller than many experienced after covid.
Great news for $UNH shareholders - nothing like overleveraged, overmedicated US consumers to deliver smart investors double-digit annual returns.
What did people think would happen when they voted for Trump? Are Americans really that dumb that they believed a convicted felon? It has been repeatedly proven that he doesn't care about others, only himself. 86-47
All Trump voters still happy with the Trump tariff strategy? Forgot to mention the American households are paying for this ha?
Their current happiness is about average.

Worse than last year but better than next year.
What about the company whose executive was shot down last year in New York?
Expect this to hit Trump. No hiding this kind of increase.
Teflon Don will blame it on someone random and get away with it
Tech companies firing workers - AI

Insurance Companies raising premiums - Tariffs

President Donald Trump told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday that planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. could eventually reach up to 250%, the highest rate he has threatened so far.

Why doesn’t the President use the funds from the tariffs to lower healthcare premiums?
(Edited)
No one in the GOP has ever, ever cared about helping Americans or providing access to affordable care. For more than twenty years.

"Get better on your own or DIE" has ALWAYS been the GOP healthcare plan of every elected official up and down the ballot. Republicans take great delight in watching people suffer and die. It is part of their party platform.

The sadism and condescension are features of GOP policy, not bugs.

It comes from verses of their book of holy writ which they all believe more than the US Constitution. Every. Last. One.
(Edited)
begs the question if the poor people voting for them deserve any sympathy then
It does, indeed, beg the question.

These are HATEFUL, bigoted people. They detest brown people speaking Spanish, immigrants of any stripe, LGBTQ+ community, Blacks. DETEST. Down to their DNA.

See the recent comments of MO Senator Schmitt about his bigoted "White, Christian nationalist" beliefs. One could take bets whether, in his entire lifetime, the senator from the Show Me State (previously a slave state during the Civil War) has ever done anything to improve the lives of anyone outside his "White, Christian nationalist" Kl@n posse. Even ONCE.

Manifest destiny and Whites in charge. The REAL GOP agenda and every line of Project 2025. Everyone else should HAPPILY accept second-class citizen status under law and get to the back of the bus with a smile !

Do people with such an inherent antithetical understanding of America deserve any sympathy ? Can they walk the rows at Arlington and see the thousands of NON-CHRISTIANS who gave their full measure of devotion to this nation and still, with every bigoted breath, CONTINUE to believe in their heart of hearts that they alone are "more American" than others ?

That is every single GOP/MAGA voter and elected official and all their influencers. They alone are top-tier, "upper class," and the "REAL" Americans.

THEY BELIEVE THIS UN-AMERICAN HATRED. They really and honestly do. All. Of. Them.

It does beg the question whether a true patriot can take the high road and have sympathy for such detestable, deplorable, bigoted, ... haters ? Certainly an ontological question for the ages !
Wouldn’t that be a step towards NHS America?
Just just about the same time as Reform embraces an American-style 'pay-or-die poor' healthcare system.
Not really. The earliest they can do that is late 2029, and frankly that’s unlikely anyway.
The pitiful American healthcare system, which covers only 80% of the population or less, which reduces the underinsured, 92% of them, to a state of permanent panic, which costs double or triple the GDP of the universal European public systems that insure 100% and provide a much longer life expectancy for the population, is the clearest example of the falsehood of the myth that public companies cannot compete with private ones.
Trump has been president for less than four months. For the last four years, we’ve had incredible inflation and the Biden administration didn’t care. I’m not saying that Trump cares, particularly either, but these increases have as much to do with the last four years than the last four months..
Very Charlottesville "good folks on both sides."

Trump can do no wrong. Yeah, yeah, we got it.

He said so himself, "Anything bad, that's Biden."

Clearly the go to answer through 2028.
Trump was inaugurated in January. It is presently September, not May.
You're expecting literacy from those folks, too?
Trump is the one who caused the inflation for the Biden administration by printing money. BTW - the government had to print money and give it to people to spend. If the government had not, we would have seen a great depression that lasted a decade. Don't be naive and believe the noise on Fox News
Trump has been president for less than four months
There's MAGA maths for you. I guess counting above 4 is too hard.
Makes one wonder why there are SOOOOO many GOP/MAGA business owners who restrict their employees to less than full time so they do not have to provide medical insurance. Hmm.

All those endless business tax credits. Dropped from 35% down to 21%, now permanent. But, all that wealth flows into some greedy, self-centered pockets.

Not even providing basic health, dental, and vision while the business owners are SWIMMING in all that extra cash. GOP business owners make Scrooge seem like Mother Teresa by comparison.

Conservatism = "I got mine, screw you !"

Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Time to REPEAL what’s left of OBAMAS Affordable Care Act and make health care affordable again.

And Tariffs are just an excuse to raise prices as they are based on expectations of increased costs for devices, drugs etc they haven’t all happened yet.

MAGA
👊
Nonsense.
lol, the BBB just caused 15 million Americans to lose health insurance but I guess they must have deserved it 👊🏼
#chestbump

We'll show those liberals, won't we brother? Until then, can you spot me a fiver?
MAGA ignorant more like! Americans live 5 years less on average than Europeans and pay 2 x more for health care. Try and explain that one away.
Well it must be something about the illegal immigrants accessing healthcare and putting the costs up for the average healthy American. But city martial law will sort that out.
The question would be — how long do Europeans live in the US?
Where are all those market-based solutions we were promised by our conservative and GOP opponents ?

Letting the free market run free in red state after red state ? Get government out of the way and UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE COVERAGE will naturally ensue. Where are all those failed attempts later turned successful with a nudge here and a tweak there ?

After all, there was an endless tsunami of criticism against the ACA and Obama's implementation of a conservative Heritage Foundation model. Talking ALL that smack.

For two decades.

Hmm, which red states with their trifecta uniparty GOP governments can brag that, they alone, have universal coverage for every citizen in their state ? DO tell !
You are nonsense, the ACA is written into law, until it’s appealed there can be no market solution.

A Know-nothing.
Clearly misinformed. Each state is free to experiment with implementation.

Do try to catch up !
A tax on processed food should be levied. And health insurance by BMI brackets should be available. So stuffing your face with fast food, being fat, eating mountains of crisps should be reflected in your health care costs. Economic consequences modify behavior far better than inclusion policies and body positivity nonsense.
BMI is a very inaccurate measure of someone’s weight. It makes tall people think they are fatter than they are and short people think they are thinner than they are. But I take your point on the rest. Waist measurement half of someone’s height in inches or weight and height in centimetres being the same is a better indicator.
Annual weigh in followed by juicy incentives if you don’t meet the target weight, like an extra 10 years of life from free Ozempic.
tax the only food that poor Americans can afford; that is a genius idea;
Let them eat crypto
This is simply anti-poor since healthy fresh produce is extremely expensive in the US. Maybe Kennedy could pick up on Mamdani's suggestion to put food stores in food deserts.

Then you have the stuffer in chief who he claims to admire.

As for exercise, just mandate that public schools require an hour of fiscal activity at school. That would make a difference.
The good news is there are trillions in newly minted wealth voters can democratically agree may go towards these payments while leaving the tech & finance oligarchs still infintely rich! That is why Elon wants to go to Mars: it is a race against time, I guess!
(Edited)
Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" passed by Trump and Republicans for the benefit of Trump and his cronies cut insurance subsides in the marketplace exchanges for lower income and working families. Cost increases are going to be passed along to families with the least capacity to absorb the hit. Ideally, this would create enough political pressure to expand public insurance, but with Trump and the Republicans that won't happen either. What's going to happen in the short-term is that more Americans are going to be forced into medical bankruptcy and more Americans will die because they are forced to defer medical care due to increased medical costs.
Are you saying the cost increase would have been smaller if Harris would have been elected?
I think he is and I agree with him.
Millions agree with you.
Not a fan then?
Of Trump ? Most assuredly not.

He is our national penance for having abandoned our principles and allowed someone who does not love the country more than he loves himself to occupy 1600 Penn in the first place.

Anyone with eyeballs knows, deep in their soul, that Trump will ALWAYS favor self-enrichment over obedience to the US Constitution or doing ANYTHING that is good for the country, but not good for him personally. Just the reality.
I misread your comment - yes, in full agreement.
So, could you please let us know where you think Harris would have been able to lower health care costs exactly?

Also, why didn’t that work in the last four years?
It's not that Harris would have lowered healthcare costs. It's that Trump's policies have supercharged the increases in what people are being charged.

Tariffs and policy uncertainty increase costs. So big increases to US consumers for healthcare comes as a surprise to precisely nobody who is economically literate.
As far as I know, pharmaceuticals are excluded from tariffs.
(Edited)
See previous comment.
Millions are being thrown off healthcare plans. That didn’t happen in the previous four years.
…because they kept paying even if people were double insured.
Whaa?
Well done to the 75M who voted to make themselves poorer. You must be so proud.

So what if you are voted yourself a narcissist in chief with no economic sense, you must be thrilled that you can now can avoid using pronouns you don't like; *that* is a lot higher in priority list than boring stuff like large insurance premium hikes.
Wait ladies and gentlemen of Merica, the show is yet to begin 😉
"People might not expect tariffs to show up in their health care costs"?
What "People"?
Trump's beloved admirers - the poorly educated?
“Arkansans are tired of getting outrageous bills from multi-billion-dollar insurance companies,”
I guess everyone's against the free market when it's costing them!
And Mr Trump says he will put 200 % tariff on pharma. Wow . What a leader ! Hats off! If he had guts he should have put higher tariff on Indian pharma which gives lowest prices and best quality generics to USA. If India starts retaliation your health costs will go through the roof. But India is a mature nation. It believes in fair and cooperative relations . Not bullying
Which is precisely why Indian Pharma imports are exempt from TACO tariffs.
And people slag off the NHS.
NHS is not fit for purpose.
We live longer than the Americans at less than half the cost. I beg to disagree.
That is probably a stat you pulled out of your hole.

Not relevant to anything.
No, it's a well-known and solidly supported statistic. Americans do die younger than Britons, and they pay far less for healthcare. It's not quite half, though: more like 2/3rds. https://www.ft.com/content/653bbb26-8a22-4db3-b43d-c34a0b774303
If the insurance companies have assessed that vaccines are effective in preventing illness and disease, and if they are anticipating a fall-off in vaccination rates due to RFKs policies, then health insurance costs are bound to rise, perhaps significantly.
How much are you paying for vaccines there if you think that's a major source of profit?
It's not the profit - it's the social costs of vaccine-preventable diseases that are the issue. Vaccines are highly cost-effective as a form of disease prevention, and it's been estimated that the childhood vaccination program alone saves the US roughly $18 billion a year in direct medical costs (by preventing hospitalization, medical treatment, etc.) and about $90 billion in social costs (by averting lost productivity, premature mortality, etc.)

So even relatively small falls in vaccine coverage can lead to big increases in spending. As an example, the measles outbreak in the US this year started and is spreading primarily in unvaccinated individuals and is costing the US an average of nearly $50,000 per case in direct medical costs. (https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/2025/economic-impact-of-the-ongoing-measles-outbreak). In contrast, the MMR vaccine itself costs about $26 per dose, or $95 if you buy it from a private provider.

So for an insurer, it's those extra healthcare costs in the unvaccinated that matter. If the number if unvaccinated increases, everybody's healthcare premiums go up, because it's far cheaper to prevent the disease than deal with it.
And who is again paying for tariffs?
American citizens.
I always love articles like these.

People are so adamant it’s just one reason or another that healthcare costs are so much higher in the U.S.

Like almost all issues, there are various reasons that all contribute to it (market power, unhealthy lifestyles, complex regulations etc.)

People’s focus on treating things as black and white is quite something.
Who promotes unhealthy lifestyles in America? The people who practice them? Or the agricultural and food businesses who stand to profit from them?
Both.

There are plenty of healthy and unhealthy people in the U.S.

Is the food business bad? Sure. But people need to take responsibility as well.

Again this is what I’m talking about. It’s not black and white with just one cause/responsible party, there are multiple factors at play!
(Edited)
Once upon a time the Ethyl Corporation blamed people who suffered mental disorders from lead poisoning, as irresponsible and not fit to make decisions for themselves. Nevermind that car producers had lobbied for highway construction straight through their neighbourhoods, pumping out aerosolised lead 24/7.

You're falling for the same playbook, not accounting for power distribution.
And you’re doing exactly what I said in the initial post: treating this like a black and white issue.

I’m not absolving food companies, they are partly responsible. But people also have responsibility for their own lifestyles as well. To say it’s 100% one or the other is ridiculous and awfully convenient as a way of shirking responsibility.
As much as you don’t like to read about it, you’ll just have to realize, eventually, as it sinks into your brain, that everything the Trump administration does will ultimately drive up costs and bankrupt America. That’s what happens when you have a kleptocrat for president. Trump is the Nero of our time. And those who supported him will have to explain to their grandkids how they enabled him and aided and abetted in the destruction of a once great country.
Are you okay? Why are you pontificating to me about Trump and making assertions about my thoughts on him?

Are you upset that I forgot to put “tariffs” in the list in the parenthesis? Get a grip.
So Trump isn't a kleptocrat?
Evidence please...
Why are you asking me this?
Wow. With this increase, the electricity increases (due to the many data centers needed), the abolition of the Biden era drug pricing, and food inflation above target, to name a few issues, we’ve never had it so good here in the U.S. 🤨
I guess those voters who elected him wanted this.
Or misjudged…
Oh no, I doubt they misjudged.
Purposely misled by social media, now all owned by right wing oligarchs and Trump sycophants.This type of social media, turbocharged by GenAI slop, is fundamentally incompatible with democracy.
Is there no reason in saving the American business owner 1/4 of his gross business income by shifting the cost of workers comp to the state, which in turn taxes the business entities and populace for affordable health care? Distributing costs fairly to all with coverage to all is a desirable plan. Paycheck earners will have increased spending power by the release of hundreds of dollars in monthly medical insurance which isn’t working in the first place.
Driving a healthy economy with healthy consumers is the plan, is it not?
Not if insurance prophets of structural doom have their way.
Various reasons for cost increase. But can’t escape the fact that the population is getting older and sicker. No surprise that healthcare costs are going up.

“Arkansans are tired of getting outrageous bills from multi-billion-dollar insurance companies,” Sanders said, calling on the state’s insurance commissioner to reject Centene’s price increase.
Maybe Sanders should start by trying to promote policies that make people in Arkansas healthier?
(Edited)
Various reasons for cost increase. But can’t escape the fact that the population is getting older and sicker. No surprise that healthcare costs are going up.
The US population hasn't just suddenly gotten older and sicker in just the last few months. The insurance companies have been explicit about what's driving these increases, which are significantly above increases of recent years.

The two factors that the insurance companies are calling out are:
1. Tariffs.
2. The withdrawal of federal support for the ACA.

There's no surprise at all that Point #2 is going to hit poorer states like Arkansas hardest, because they've seen the biggest benefits from the ACA. It was pointed out even before Trump's "Big, beautiful bill" passed that it would dramatically push health insurance costs up in mostly Red states: that's why it was so hard to get GOP votes in support.
What a terrible country for anyone but the top 10-20%. And yet they are so full of themselves ...
Can I ask where you live?
Norway
Well, thank you for investing many of those hundreds of billions (that you made from exporting fossil fuels) in the US through your sovereign fund.
You're welcome!
Although we could need some more elk steaks over here…


🦌
(Edited)
Americans have passed single payer health legislation twice in California, only to see their Republican and Democrat Governor kill the popular legislation by pocket veto, non-valid by the absence of signature.
Party capture by corporate insurance power is complete within the forced American duopoly.
The financial clout of the insurance industry has as well been the elephant’s foot stepping on the ballot initiative process used to circumvent the for-profit political legislatures.
The health of a nation cannot be determined by profiteers.
The fate of successful national health care cannot be allowed to be dismantled by politicians who perform budgetary mayhem and turn to place blame on the victimized health system for intended failures.
The struggle between monied profit and human need is eternal until a foreseen extinction from profiteering goes full course, or the wealth accumulator class forgoes ( by means yet unknown or unleashed…) their expectations for extreme & untaxed profit margins over the real and present necessities of human existence, which by satisfying their expectations, are rapidly being eliminated.
Nothing to do with the current government of course.
Trump's economic poison is now spreading into other new parts of the economy.
Trump's administration is showing utter incompetence and recklessness in its economic policies. Can US society stand 4 years of this? MAGA: Make Americans Groan Again. And again. And again....
Wow America already has Doctor problems 3 weeks to see one then 3 weeks of tests 3 weeks to see the doctor again and then maybe you get your problem solved
MAGA!
America is an amazing country. Led by Snake oil salesman. When it hurts the pocket they will eventually wake up, unfortunately the damage will have been done to the poorest
I thought Kennedy was going to bring down the price of prescription drugs
Yes, Trump declared that they prices will go down. So they must have. Any news to the contrary must be fake news.
Reminds me of King Canute.
Whatever happened to Trump's health care plan that would be very great and less money than Obamacare?

I guess just another Big Lie like the Epstein files.
“Concepts of a plan.”

Though not a single Republican has put forward a viable plan since 2010. As we expected, they have been lying for decades.
In a week or two !!!!
LOL.

Indeed. His standard “leave me alone and move onto the next topic” line.

Stable genius.

“I love the poorly educated !” (Actual Trump quote.)
Remember to blame Obama.
The problem in the US is everyone wants to grift off the government: the health insurers, hospitals and administrators, private equity in healthcare, and all the people who demand insane levels of care that they don't want pay for and who are entirely unaccountable for their choices.
The system needs a hatchet, including restriction on tests, medications, and surgeries the way European countries do. There should be a public system and a private one for those who are willing to pay.
The average American is incredibly entitled and will throw a fit at the idea of restricted services and the various lobbies (insurance, hospital) have bought the politicians. And that's why nothing is ever done.
Where is that awesome Republican replacement for the ACA ?

They have had FIFTEEN years to draft one.
“Arkansans are tired of getting outrageous bills from multi-billion-dollar insurance companies.” No sympathy, sorry. It will get worse for the moocher red states as they will no longer get as much Medicaid money. Will also pay more for products, be laid off because foreign countries won’t buy their liquor and agricultural products and be unprepared for AI job losses, or A1 as the secretary of education says.
When millions of Trump voters die, not if, only then will their survivors realize that they have been scammed.

Not before.
Scam-awareness has not yet hit America.
Roll on the fall of the oaf.
The Oaf will be stinking rich by January 2019, that is what matter to MAGA.
Bernie Sanders always says how the U.S. should model Canada's healthcare, but it's fallen apart after 10 years of Trudeau. At least they can get healthcare. In Canada, the emergency room is often closed at my hospital due to staffing issues, and it's impossible to get a family doctor anymore. I've been on a waitlist for 6 months just to see a specialist, and no site of an appointment in the near future.
Good. They should suffer and throw the republicans out
This is what happens under authoritarian isolationism. The previous competition and globalisation of supply breaks down. Not to say the US healthcare insurance based system is value for money on any level.
It's what they voted for! 👍🥹
That’s what they “fell for”. Their leader is a consummate grifter. His minions consummate fools or cruel sycophants.
To be fair, you'd have to be willfully blind to have overlooked Trump's record by the time his second run at the presidency started.
The most expensive healthcare in the developed world, with the worst public health outcomes - that the wonderous result of American, privatised, for-profit "health care".
(Edited)
Well have you looked at Americans lately? Obese, eat terrible food, drive everywhere. Really poor protoplasm.
The Brits are not far behind.
Tolerance of obesity, we even class it as a disability which is perverse. This results in an enormous burden on the tax payer, when any rationale system would amp up the public health message that being fat is really bad for you and society.
20 years ago I told a patient she was obese and that was the cause of her disease (idiopathic intracranial hypertension). Which it is and can make people blind. She reported me to the hospital administration and I got hauled in and given a stern lecture.You can't reason with them. Just stop insuring them.
Oddly enough, just a couple of years ago, a former colleague of mine also had a patient with obesity-related hypertension and insulin resistance lodge a formal complaint for telling her that that she was obese and that she needed to lose weight urgently. In his case, however, the board reviewed the complaint and registered a decision that no action be taken because "the diagnosis was accurate". :)

Mind you this is in Denmark, not the US, and telling obese patients that they need to lose weight has been a pretty staple feature of consultations as long as I have been working here.
Add to that the fact that Brits have terrible teeth. Always have.
I’d examine the consequences of corporate profit lines on the quality of their food products. Processed food has much to do with enhanced profit.
Come to think of it, the “food for the mind” media industry works the same way, with half truths and unsourced facts dominating the corporate media.
And one wonders why the world seems insane.
It's not the profit making it expensive: it's the regulation.
The tariffs’ uncertainty has forced insurance companies to raise rates, and “the consequences of this are consumers have to pay that extra cost”, said Matt McGough, a policy analyst at KFF. “They foot the bill of this uncertainty.”
Aaaah, the big beautiful bill consumers will end up paying for !!!
Compared to European healthcare systems, the American system is very inefficient. Healthcare spending in the US (both public and private) is close to 20% of GDP (around 12% in Europe); life expectancy is lower than in Europe, and 20% of the population lacks health insurance (while 100% of the population is covered in Europe). Due to information asymmetry, it is difficult to transform healthcare into a perfectly competitive market, and clearly, resource allocation in the US does not function as effectively as in Europe.
(Edited)
Factually incorrect.
92% are insured.
If you don't have insurance and end up in the hospital, you end up getting enrolled in Medicaid.
There are lots of issues with our system, but since Obama care the numbers insured are much higher.
However some of the govt subsidies are disappearing next year.
Not sure from which odiferous orifice the fictional 92% heifer dust was extracted. In Texas, fully 25% of 40 million inhabitants have ZERO health insurance.

No Medicaid. Nothing.
Your citation does not address the comment. Millions upon millions of Texans have no health insurance of any kind, including Medicaid. The numbers have worsened and will become cataclysmic in the Trump era.
Texas =\= the US
Absolutely agree. But, largest population “red” state.

After all, with that dripping condescension, the red states claim to do things so much better. An obvious example to the contrary.

When 25% of Texans have ZERO health insurance, what does that portend for the rest of the US under GOP/MAGA “governance ?”

Millions of MAGA voters will die. Not one MAGA politician will give a whit. Not. One.
It’s actually quite interesting why the rate is so much lower in TX than the U.S. as a whole. Never really thought about it. But cursory search online confirms it.

Key factors:
1. Texas didn’t expand ACA so plenty of low income people without coverage
2. Employers less likely to offer it (may be industry type issue)
3. Far larger Hispanic population that are far less likely to have coverage
Just additional proof that conservatives and Republicans never once honestly had a plan to provide any form of healthcare coverage WHATSOEVER for voters. Period. Full stop.

Multiple red states, over the last fifteen years, have had free rein to try statewide plans. Supermajorities the legislature, trifectas in all three branches of government. NO pushback. NONE.

Literally, nothing stopping any of dozens of red states to try and put their money where their mouth has been for DECADES. The ACA was horrible, they said. Let the free market run free.

Since 2010 not one Republican, anywhere on the planet, has put forth a replacement. NOT. ONE. No detritus by the roadside littered with GOP state plans that needed a tweak here or a rewrite there to provide state-level universal coverage.

Why is that ?

Where are the failed GOP experiments from the "laboratories of democracy " at the state level ? All those GOP folk who badmouthed the ACA, originally a Heritage Foundation plan, by the way. Yet, for all the derision, all the Fox News "death panels" scare talk, the conservatives have had two decades to reveal that they were ALWAYS full of ... something.

Conservatism = "I got mine, screw you !"

Always has. ALWAYS will.

No conservative has a plan. Two decades proves it. They will always just want self-enrichment and more and more power.
If you don't have insurance and end up in the hospital, you end up getting enrolled in Medicaid.
I don't think this is true. You still have to qualify for Medicaid, which not everyone does and certainly not just by virtue of ending up in the hospital.
It most certainly is NOT true. The OP is wholly incorrect and just spewing pro-Trump partisan schlock.
If you don't have insurance and end up in the hospital, you end up getting enrolled in Medicaid
Speaking as someone with direct experience, I can tell you that this is absolutely untrue. If you do not qualify for Medicaid, you won't get it.

Hospitals in the US are required - by law - to stabilize acutely ill patients, even if they have no insurance, but if you're uninsured and go to hospital, they're going to try and bill you.
The Orange Buffoon - Making America Gloomy (Grim / Ghastly / Gharish / Grimy / Grotesque ) Again.
you can pay all you want, you can never rely on US health insurance.
Agreed, nor can anyone rely on political will to benefit constituents when corporate and lobby capture is 100% the norm.
Can anyone give me a number value in USD for monthly health insurance in the US for a typical 2 adult/2 child family?

I used to pay ca. 900 CHF pcm in Switzerland, albeit a decade ago. Everything was covered.
(Edited)
Most people are covered by 1) their employer's insurance plan so they pay some - differs by employer and plan 2) Medicaid so they pay nothing 3) exchange plans which were highly subsidized by the government but that is set to change next year 4) Medicare if you're old.
But it's complicated. Private insurance has deductible and out of pocket expenses. Medicare only covers 80% so you have to buy a supplement and you do pay for both depending on income.
If you are paying for the policy out of pocket the premium will be (obviously) heavily skewed by 1) , the age of the parents, 2) the deductible and co-pay that you pick and 3) how much flexibility you want (in-network vs out of network).

For a couple in the early 50s with two teenagers for a fairly pedestrian policy you are looking at around USD 3,500 per month, with a USD 4,000 family deductible and USD 10,000 out of pocket max.
Having run my own business and paid full price for health insurance, if anything the premium is low by $500 or more, assuming a "silver" plan and everyone healthy.
On the NY exchange I pay ~$1,700 for two adults with a $3,800 deductible and $9,200 out-of-pocket max (2 adults). I pay 100% of care for anything that isn't deemed "preventative". This is not the "best" plan available (apparently the ratings are not that significant though). I have a Copper plan, for Gold or Platinum it's closer to $3,000 to 3,500 / month.

My plan only covers in-network care (except for emergency care), which is not at all uncommon. This means that many Americans have to switch doctors when they switch plans or when their doctors stop accepting their plans. This leads to worse outcomes, for obvious reasons. I doubt that even when meeting the out-of-pocket max Everything would be covered :(
900 CHF it’s almost what we pay my girlfriend and I per month (in Geneva) today with a 2500 CHF franchise.
Can anyone give me a number value in USD for monthly health insurance in the US for a typical 2 adult/2 child family?
The median family healthcare insurance plan cost $25,572 in 2024. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/2024-employer-health-benefits-survey/#3f3fc2dd-74dd-4cb6-9d1c-9c19ff972f6a. On top of that, the consumer is expected to bear a certain amount of co-pays (usually capped at about $5000 p.a.).

That number is a bit misleading though, because most people get their insurance through their employer, and split the cost. So the average worker will pay 25% of that and the employer pays the rest.
UnitedHealth, has cited tariffs from President Donald Trump’s trade wars as a reason for the increases.
🎻
MAGAtts getting what they voted for. Good.
So much winning!
The Financial Times notes that Americans face the largest health insurance hike in 15 years. Worth asking: of those 15 years, Democrats controlled the White House for 11 — with Obama’s Affordable Care Act promising affordability that never materialized, and Biden presiding over surging costs. Health care “reform” became bureaucracy, mandates, and higher premiums for working families. Rather than easing the burden, Democratic policies often entrenched the insurers’ power while leaving consumers squeezed. Rising costs are not a new crisis — they’re the product of years of failed promises and misplaced priorities.
Tell me you are ignorant without telling me
Resorting to name calling as you do demonstrates your inability to provide a reasoned response and makes you appear to be an ignorant person. Try giving a reasoned response but judging from your name calling suggests you lack the ability.
Stop posting. We don't really care much about your uninformed opinion on health insurance.
Resorting to name calling as you do demonstrates your inability to provide a reasoned response and makes you appear to be an ignorant person. Try giving a reasoned response but judging from your name calling suggests you lack the ability.
I'm an American and I am well aware of health insurance.
Ignorant people obviously can't give a reasoned response by definition displaying their ignorance.

The reason the the healthcare costs are so high in America is that a great number of people choose poor lifestyle including eating junk food, eating at fast food restaurants, continuing to smoke cigarettes after warning labels have been on cigarettes for 60 years and not exercising.
The reason that rates are so high is that those of use that do exercise, that do eat healthy food, do not smoke, do not overindulge in alcohol, and so on pay for the poor lifestyle choices of others.

How do you not know this?
Your continued nonsensical, incorrect, fact-free biased statements do not help your position. But, you are free to spew idi0cy that will be discounted and ignored.

It is your right to be uninformed and wrong.
(Edited)
The US adult obesity rate is 42% and the UK rate is 26%.
This is from lifestyle choices.
How could you not know this?
How is it possible that you did not know that the US adult obesity rate is far higher than other countries?

Stop giving incorrect information and address how you are so very unaware of the far greater American obesity rate? Really I find the absolutely baffling that an FT readers is so ill informed for what is common knowledge.
(laughing hysterically). LOL.

"Common knowledge" = fictional, made up statistics presented by D, ABSENT ANY CONTEXT OR REFERENCE, ostensibly as a ... pseudo-fact.

Got it. You have discovered Google, Ecosia, or Bing, and now feel empowered to spew any random, uncontextualized stat as ... "proof."

Congratulations for discovering all 26 characters used in the current English language. Quite the accomplishment. Bravissimo.

(golf clap)
Affordability did materialise for the millions that got coverage as a result of Obamacare. Agree though failure on both sides.
This is wrong isn't it. The conclusion from your cited correlation is that price rises are controlled when Deomcrats are in power and not controlled when Republicans are in power.
We need to stop paying above-market price for medications in the US so that US pharma can sell them at a discount abroad.

And charge differentiated insurance premia based on lifestyle choices. I don't want to pay higher insurance because my health insurance needs to cover people who eat fried chicken 5 times a week.
You do understand the concept that insurance is pooled risk?
But you can still make categories. There is no need for one big pool.
A lot of those categories such as pre-existing conditions are not legally allowed anymore.
Right.
Unsafe automobile drivers pay higher premiums.
We need to stop paying above-market price for medications in the US so that US pharma can sell them at a discount abroad.
Speaking as someone with many, many years of experience in pharma, US companies have never sold their products at a discount abroad because Americans pay too much. This is a MAGA myth.

Americans pay too much for medicines, because their healthcare system systematically pushes up costs due to its byzantine complexity and the ability of providers, PBMs and insurers to price-gouge their customers.
US health insurers, reeling from slumping share prices, are raising insurance premiums by the most in 15 years, adding to fears that American consumers are struggling under the weight of high costs. US health insurers, reeling from slumping share prices, are raising insurance premiums by the most in 15 years, adding to fears that American consumers are struggling under the weight of high costs.
The logical conclusion is that maybe share prices shouldn't be part of the equation here.
Laughs in European. I can't remember the last time I thought about healthcare costs. My local private GP charges 20 euro per visit too and will see you that day, so I don't tend to bother with public health. I usually don't even bother to claim that 20 euro back from my workplace health insurance, too much effort.
On the other hand the cost is reflected in the country’s debt pile which for many countries in Europe is unsustainable and will mean every household will need to pay huge sums to bail out the government one day
US Government Debt to GDP = 124%
France = 113%
UK = 96%
Euro Area Average = 87.4%
Germany = 63%
Switzerland = 38%

At least we get something for our debt, and it actually looks more sustainable than that of the Banana Republic of Magastan.
European countries almost all have far lower public debt than the US. I live in Denmark, where we have excellent healthcare provided free at point of care to all legal residents. We also have a public debt of 31% of GDP - and falling.

Compare that to the US's 124% - and rising.

Someone's running up unsustainable debt, but it's not us.
Fair points to both I stand corrected
(Edited)
I am guessing you are in Spain? Ireland and Spain are similar, where, despite its citizens paying some of the highest taxes in the EU, their citizens still have to pay fees at the point of service. Hardly a great system, but the UK may be heading in that direction too; sadly (all healthcare is "free" in the UK (100% funded by taxpayers).
All EU nations and the UK face the same problem of declining birth rates, resulting fewer tax payers to fund the sick and retired.
I'm in Malta. Healthcare is free at the point of service but you need to queue for a few hours usually (or get lucky) if it's not an emergency. The private GPs charge around 20 euro for routine issues and you can just turn up that day with minimum wait. They're basically stamping prescriptions or referring to public (or private) specialists.

You're right about demographics of course... the solution for now seems to be a production line of importing Asian nurses, which I don't particularly mind - but not sure if it's sustainable in the long term.
Average healthcare outcomes and costs are much better in Europe than the U.S.

Having said, if we’re going to go the route of personal experiences, the healthcare I get in the U.S. is way better than what I got in Europe. My employer pays for everything, there are no wait times, and I get access to the latest advances in healthcare. There’s no place I’d rather be if I were to get cancer or anything like that.

Obviously I’m in the minority in terms of access within the U.S., but this should make it clear why there are entrench groups who don’t want to change the status quo.
(Edited)
I get it - you get what you pay for, if you can afford it. As an adult if I had a rare form of cancer I'd certainly rather be in the US. What I can say though is I have a close friend whose toddler son recently got a rare form of leukaemia and I was absolutely amazed how much resources both the state and private benefactors threw at it (on the scale of European wide help - with Great Ormond Street in London running it). I suspect though that's the type of treatment that is reserved for children - not aging or elderly adults who have to get in the queue with the rest of us.
The White House claims that Medicare drug price negotiations started August 15.
Let’s see how it goes. I’m not that confident.
Wonder what happened 15 years ago?? Oh, yeah … Obamacare! Gigo
2A
So much winning! Enjoy.
(Edited)
‘US health insurers are raising insurance premiums by the most in 15 years,’

Good. I don’t gloat at the pain Americans are now feeling, but they need to learn that Trump’s voodoo economics is lose-lose for foreigners and Americans alike. Only then might they turn in sufficient numbers against him.
Actually as an American Trump is working to stop the freeloading off of Americans by wealthy OECD countries for defense and drug costs so that American drug costs will decline as OECD nations will no longer be subsided by Americans for drug and device costs.
Let's check in 12 months, shall we?
So you really think US drug companies would lower prices they can command just because they earn more overseas? This is not how any of this works.
Because US overpays for drugs, the drug companies can charge other OECD countries less. Trump will put an end to this great disparity and now the drug companies will charge the OECD countries fair prices.
(Edited)
It's not a national issue. The "other OECD countries" are more willing to tackle the greed of Big Pharma (which, as I remember, MAHA is always complaining about). You don't have to hurt the citizens of other countries to help yours. Drug companies are the ones who should have to give up a little privilege.
Repeating that nonsense does not make it any more true. Why would a corporation, whose sole purpose is to maximise shareholder value, make discounts for US consumers, just because they have more profits elsewhere?
This shows a profound ignorance about how global businesses actually work.

I hate to break it to you, but no, other countries are not going to pay higher costs to subsidise US drug prices. The higher drug prices in the US are a result of the US healthcare system.

I'll let you into another secret: other countries don't pay less for doctors because the US pays far more, either.
“UnitedHealth’s tariff-related cost increases are associated with insurance offered under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as Obamacare.” that is the biggest BS that is a statement to undermine the ACA or anything moving towards universal single payer coverage- a scare tactic to give Trump ammunition to drip even more patients.
Lovely
Trump voters will be most impacted.
Making America Great Again
What a win, let's applaud for the greatest president ever for doing this.
America’s “greatness” is only beginning. We are going to get so much “greater” over the next 3 years. And we will be so exhausted from “winning”.
My insurer, Blue Cross through Anthem, has become an absolute nightmare to deal with this year. This helps place their horrible customer service and new restrictions on everything in perspective.
Here in Australia, Healthscope the second largest private hospital owner in the country,,
is in administration..
Trump's "golden age."
Employer-sponsored plans have been becoming less and less generous over the years, and this will likely lead more employers to either shift more costs to their workers and / or cut hours to reduce 'full-time' rolls. In softening job market (thanks also to Trump) firms will likely have the leverage to cut benefits like subsidized health insurance.
The ACA premium increases are driven by the cuts to ACA funding in the “BBB”. Because subsidies were cut, which will impact retirees under 65 and others, insurers figure some “healthy” people will opt out, increasing their risk, thus justifying the premium increase. As a result, those who keep coverage will face both higher premiums and less federal offset. Many are in for a rude awakening this fall when re enrolling.
Democrats could run on Healthcare if only they didn't take so much campaign financing from them.
Canadians with their socialized healthcare system come to American for health care even though they have to pay themselves. Do you really need anymore evidence about which healthcare system is better: socialized healthcare or American healthcare? If you or your mother is sick with a serious illness which would you choose?

It is hardly the fault of both insurance and American doctors and nurses that Americans choose poor lifestyle such as not exercising, eating lots of junk food in grocery stores purchasing food in junk food restaurants, that they continue to smoke cigarettes 60 years after warning labels are on cigarette packages.

Just ask the Canadians why they forego their own socialized healthcare system for America care where they pay their own medical costs. You only have one life as does your mother. Why risk them? Why risk getting a preventable severe harm?
How many Canadians do that?

How many Americans cross the borders to buy drugs or get C-sections from Mexico and Canada?
Very long wait times to see specialists and surgeries such as knee replacements because of socialized medicine.
Agreed with you. So many programs which are good and needed by Congress, but enforcements are not there, wasteful and fraudulent activities suck plenty money
Delusional. The U.S. system is the wrost healthcare system in the industrialised world.

It offers extremely good acute medicine for the top 25/% of the wealth distribution but very patchy and skimpy cover for the rest and very poor handling of chronic conditions.

All of this at the cost of over 22% of GDP, roughly twice the percentage spent on healthcare in Europe.

Meanwhile, most Europeans live longer than Americans and live longer in good health than Americans.
It is 18'% of GDP primarily because Americans aver far more obese than other countries from lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise or even walking and the junk food, chips, cokes, donuts, pizzas, fried chicken, McDonalds, Ben & Jerries, consumed as well as many people smoking 60 years after warning labels were put on cigarettes in America.

People in Canada that want to see specialists and have surgeries such as knee surgery can wait a very long time. The claim is that knee surgery waits should. be 6 months, but often far longer. But the Canadians come to America and they don't have to wait.
It can be longer and governments are trying to fix that. However, to so requires higher taxes, which citizens generally do not wan to pay. And yes, they come to America and spend $20,000 or more for the surgery. And the rest of us Canadians are happy for them to do that because it means that the health care system saves $20,000 every time that the wealthy individual wanting faster elective surgery goes south for the work to be done in America.
Even if the data support this (and you have provided none) this proves only that American doctors are notoriously good at selling hope.
Only the wealthy get it done in the US. Yes it is faster in the US because the Canadian health care system does not give priority to 'elective' surgery. Nobody in Canada is happy about having to wait for a knee or hip replacement but you forget one fact of life in Canada: healthcare is free for all citizens. Absolutely FREE. Corporations pay about $50 per month per employee, not $3500 per month.

People at risk get priority in Canada. My wife was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia (after getting a blood test) and was in a hospital bed 4 hours later. The system probably spent a million dollars saving her life. In Canada, CEO or homeless, you get the same care and attention. If your life is at risk, you get immediate care.
Very unfortunate to see this. We pay so much in the US for health insurance. But there IS benefit.

My spouse was diagnosed with aggressive cancer, and essentially the ‘next day’, underwent surgery at, and 7 months of treatment at, one of the best cancer hospitals in the world. I doubt very much this would have happened in the UK or Canada. To be treated by world experts in this particular condition so quickly.

I injured my shoulder and I was in to see a specialist in shoulders at the premier orthopedic surgery hospital in America, the very next day. Again, I wonder if this would have happened that way in the UK or Canada.

I think that many/most people approach health insurance with the wrong ‘lens’. This is easy to do in America. The plans are quite complex. And they are meant to distract you; hands waving everywhere about ‘extra benefits’, ‘deductibles’, ‘co-insurance’, ‘co-pays’ etc.

I ignore all of the details around the plan; all the waving hands. I

look at 3 items only.

A)

What financial hit can I take in a year and keep moving forward? Like most Americans, living on the edge as we do, I can’t take ANY unplanned financial hit.

So i need to insure against that.

B)

What am I paying the insurer a year for family coverage. Say, $1,800 a month * 12 ($21,600).

C)

The ONLY number in any health insurance plan that counts.

What is the Maximum Out of Pocket (MOP) Per Year?

For my plan, am exceptional plan negotiated by my employer, it is $1,750. After that- everything is ‘free’. No deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, medication costs. Nothing after one hits MOP.

So this year, we probably avoided $500,000 + in surgery and 7 months of cancer treatment, and $150,000 + in shoulder surgery and rehabilitation. Say $650,000 +.

And we paid the $21,600 premium.

And $1,750 x 2 =$3,500 for the two health events.

Worst health year possible. Treated by national experts at speed. Unexpected financial hit: $3,500.
Spent 3 hour in the waiting room to see a doctor for a prescription renewal in the greatest health care system in the world.

In Switzerland it took 5 minutes.
I didn’t claim it is “the greatest healthcare system in the world”.

I distinctly said, “There ARE advantages.”

That’s fine. Switzerland has about 9 million people, the size of a large city. And an almost fully homogenous population.

If it’s good for you, keep going.
The average waiting time in the US in ERs is around 5 hours unless you pay extra, only the 1% can, then you jump the line.

Same for cancer treatments.

The US system is great for rich people but not the average Joe.
I spent 8 hours in A&E in Edinburgh in February. What’s your point?
My point is that the US system isn't as great and accessible some Americans would like to claim.

They have waiting times too.
Yes but in general KGB’s point is valid that you can see a specialist or get treatment quicker than other healthcare systems.
(Edited)
That is true it and only if you can pay, either directly or via insurance.

So very relevant to FT readers but irrelevant to the average citizen.
Hardly. 300 million Americans have some type of health insurance.
92% of the US is insured.
That covers your average citizen.
Only if your illness is not life threatening. Otherwise, there are no delays.
You clearly weren't dying - if you were, you'd have been at the front of the line.
Exactly why is that? You won't like the facts.
You cannot jump the line in an ER by paying. You are clearly not in the US.
(Edited)
Why do you mention that Switzerland has an 'almost fully homogeneous population'? What is it that you think that explains?
(Edited)
Of course it does?

Oh…that may rattle your soft feather construct of the world.

Blacks in America have twice the rate of high blood pressure. Women suffer more depression. American Indians have five fold the levels of alcoholism.

You may deny the data, and that is up to you to do.

But for healthcare providers, meeting the diverse needs of a non-homogenous, non-culturally aligned population, requires more effort and more types of responses.
AI (purloined from Wikipedia, of course): "Switzerland has a higher share of foreign-born residents (around 31-32% as of 2022-2023) compared to the United States, which had approximately 13-15% foreign-born as of 2023."
Purloined from AI indeed.

AI for the most part either refuses to acknowledge RACE, or is confused deeply by the concept.

Foreign born is not a race. Immigrants are not a race. AI mixes these categories in as if apples-to-appples. Whether cultural or historical genetics or geographic origins, races suffer from different intensities of specific diseases, and different outcomes. Same as gender. Men and women suffer from different intensities of different diseases, can require different levels of medication.

1. Type 2 Diabetes – Native Americans
Some tribes (e.g., Pima) have rates up to 40–50%, compared to ~8% in the general U.S. population.


2. Sickle Cell Disease – African Americans
Affects 1 in 365 African-American births; extremely rare in other groups.


3. Cystic Fibrosis – Northern Europeans
Most common among people of Northern European descent; rare in African, Asian, and Hispanic populations.


4. Alcohol-Related Mortality – American Indian / Alaska Native
Death rate from alcohol is over 3.5× higher than in the general U.S. population.


5. Prostate Cancer Mortality – Black Men
Black men are over twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as White men.


6. Tay–Sachs Disease – Ashkenazi Jews
Carrier rate is about 1 in 30; far higher than in the general population.


7. Tuberculosis – Asian and Pacific Islanders
TB incidence is over 20× higher than in White Americans.


8. Asthma – Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rican Americans have nearly 3× the asthma rate compared to other Hispanic groups.


9. Infant Mortality – Black Americans
Black infants die at nearly 2× the rate of White infants in the U.S.


10. Melanoma (Skin Cancer) – White Americans
White Americans have far higher rates—up to 5× higher than Native American and Hispanic populations.

And on, and on.

Shocking to your non-data driven world view I am sure.
You are wrong. See my comment above. My wife had ALL and was in the ward 4 hours later. The system spent at least a million dollars on her over 3 years and she is in excellent health today (15 years later).

I get so tired of Americans trotting out stories of Canadians dying while waiting for an operation. Yes, it can happen but it is very, very rare. We pay far less than the American system per capita and we live longer. Go figure.

But the comments above about obesity are certainly part of the problem. Not the whole story but part of the problem. And also note the comment above from the Pharma executive who said that big Pharma does not subsidize other countries by gouging Americans. The ludicrous number 'middlemen' within the US system is what drives those prices up. In Canada, the government negotiates directly with big Pharma, and there are no 'middlemen' in the distribution channels.
There is only so much St. Luigi can do, moreover god helps those who help themselves.
How much do litigation awards and anti litigion insurance cost doctors ?
The US system is broken on many fronts and the UK is going down the same hole by allowing ambulance chasing law suits which just consume NHS resources and then Trusts get fined which doesn't help citizens in the area of the Trust
And us Americans are also facing soaring electricity costs, thanks to the tech oligarchs. And soaring food prices, thanks to Trump's tariffs. Welcome to the former home of free enterprise that is now run by a handful of oligarchs, including the main one in the White House.
So. Much. Winning.
Almost all of the food is grown in America.
Energy prices are higher because of higher gasoline prices and the use of renewable wind and solar energy. The off-shore wind farms are not financially sustainable yet the Biden government was using American taxpayer funds for forever subsidies.
Oh boy...
I know, right? Where to even begin addressing mammoth stupidity?
There is no explanation provided for how tariffs are increasing healthcare insurance prices. It appears that increases are due to the expiration of government subsidies.
Americans voted.

Americans (and all of us) are facing the consequences.

Just another nail in the US’s economic coffin. Long overdue.
Can't blame this on tariffs
Blame the immigants, innit.
If the standard of care leads to worse outcomes, it does not matter the cost.
We should focus on improving quality first.
(Edited)
this is such an evil article (author?) I don't even know where to start to explain how evil it is... medicare, medicaid and MA, exchange insurance (Obamacare) costs are through the roof. The system has been insanely abused since the Covid. Costs are out of control and someone has to pay for it. How does it boil down to tariffs are beyond comprehension.
You make a good point! What do tariffs have to do with United Healthcare?
(Edited)
I also didn’t have the MCO space down as taking a big hit from tariffs - more they need to recoup losses from their recent poor underwriting (which benefitted insureds).

Thats said, surely hospital and broader medical consumables and equipment and their raw materials will be subject to tariff pressure either directly or indirectly? And for some products that are sold into the US, maybe the producers don’t want to wear the pain of the weaker dollar (partially a result of tariffs) and will pass on the costs to the US healthcare system?

Could wage pressure from the USG’s targeting of immigrants also be a factor? I’d find that hard to argue against though to be fair haven’t seen any stats on this yet.More broadly, whilst no healthcare system is perfect, the US one is a total shambles.

I’m grateful for the innovation but their system really only serves the rich and is unsustainable. Prices have been going up hugely for a very long time, albeit obscured by rising coinsurance and deductibles.
Most medical suppliers are locked into multi year fixed price contracts with their big customers and so are constrained from increasing prices despite tariffs.
Completely agree this is a meaningful factor but don’t think it’s a blanket situation, especially on the new instrument side where surcharges are already in place (thinking from the likes of Danaher, who have publicly confirmed as much). Also a portion of multi-year contracts will need renewed every year and as we are talking about next year’s pricing then this will undoubtedly be a factor at least to some degree.
Some of our contracts were renewed early this year for 5 years - pre tariffs……..
(Edited)
Good stuff for you guys.

Assuming 5 years is the average based on your comment then that would mean 20% is up for renewal early next year and subject to tariff impacts, which is what the MCO’s have to factor in to their pricing. That’s quite a sizeable chunk, especially given contracts signed 5 years ago was prior to the large bout of inflation.

Hopefully the commentator known as Covenant ((above) can now be assured it’s not evil - its just maths.
They don’t. Most healthcare groups have multi year fixed price contracts. If they are charging insurers more due to ‘tariffs’ it’s likely BS. UnitedHealth would know this and so it is just more price gouging on their part.
Why do human beings need so much healthcare to stay alive?
No other animals need it in the wild.
Try doing 15 minutes of exercise in the morning and eating healthy, and avoiding stuff that your dog wont touch such as alcohol etc.
Noticed that mr Buffett has invested in this company recently… any link to price increases since BH also own insurance holdings.
Total BS industry based on fear fear fear fear and herd mentality.
What do you do if a baby is born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy with an expected life span of 2 years and there are treatments that can give them a normal life. Things are not as black and white.
I’m referring to adults paying health insurance, perhaps they are forced to because corporations etc insist on it. Sorry about the babies, but any decent society would have provisions in place from the taxes the adults pay.
Eh? I assume wild animals haven't drastically increased their lifespan since they first evolved.

Why do you think a huge percentage of people no longer die in childbirth, for example?

I'm with you on eating healthily and exercising, and in general people taking more responsibility, but the wild animal comparison is absurd.
Almost everyone goes to the hospital to have their babies delivered. Yes it’s a given so pay some money for the service. What’s this lifetime of paying health insurance all about ?
(Edited)
Not sure what your point is, maybe ask your insurance agent why it is not covered?

I can tell you that child birth is covered in many European public health insurance schemes. Which does not mean it is entirely free (e.g., you still pay for a nicer room at the hospital, and for the parking) but it is peanuts compared to the invoices we see from US healthcare providers.
I'm not sure how that engages my point.
(Edited)
We should look to the octupus model. Two years of intelligent life, then snuggle up into a cave and die. Works for them, why not us?
You might wanna ask the octopi how the death spiral feels after reproduction. We know it as morning sickness.
The most expensive healthcare system that money can buy.
Those stock prices don’t go if profits are flat.
• Prices for Services and Drugs: Hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies charge much higher prices for the same procedures, medicines, and visits than in other countries.
• Administrative Costs: The US system is fragmented, with a mix of private and public payers (Medicare, Medicaid, multiple private insurers). This leads to a massive administrative burden, paperwork, billing, and bureaucracy that consume around 8% of health spending—far higher than peer countries.
• Provider Salaries: American physicians and nurses are paid much more than their counterparts elsewhere, adding about 15% to the spending gap.
• Profit Motivation: Hospitals, insurance companies, and drug manufacturers operate largely for profit, which raises prices and can encourage over-provision of costly services and tests.
• Fee-for-Service Incentives: Payment is often based on the quantity of care, testing, and procedures, not quality or outcomes, encouraging unnecessary spending.
• Drug Costs: Prescription drugs cost two to four times more in the US; unlike other wealthy countries, there are few price controls or government negotiations for drug prices.
• Complex Technology and New Treatments: The US rapidly adopts expensive new medical technology and treatments, which can raise costs without always improving outcomes.

Outcomes are worse in the US but that is largely due to socioeconomic issues (lot of poor people), access/coverage gaps, and perhaps most importantly... unhealthy lifestyles...Obesity rates in the US are significantly higher than in the EU—about 36–42% of American adults are obese, compared to just over 15–25% in the average European country. Massive difference.

You'll never convince me to choose EU medical services over being an insured American, and I definitely don't want a "Medicare for all" system. It would bankrupt the country, severely increase taxes, and provide less access to care for people that already have it.
This was a good comment until the nonsequitur last paragraph
Exactly. That last comment points to exactly what is wrong with America today.
No question the American healthcare is far, far better quality than other countries. We get Canadians all the time from their socialized healthcare system which is itself proof of the difference in quality because when they come to the US they must pay for their medical care.

Most Americans don't bother to exercise and eat junk food in grocery stores, and eat in fast food restaurants, and many, many still smoke cigarettes even though warning labels have been on cigarettes for 60 years.

It is those of us that exercise and watch what we eat that subsidize those that don't. This is not the fault of the American health care delivery system.
Who are these Canadians? How many are there? We hear about the US pill shoppers in Canada -
Few and far between. Mostly well off people who want their surgery NOW. And we support them heading south because it lowers the costs in Canada!
Disagree, i’m American, living in the UK. For specialist treatment, I find the UK to be excellent and perhaps surprisingly wait times comparable (US wait times used to be better). The GP (primary care physician in the US) system in the UK is less consistent and practice dependent but good practices can be found. In any event, it is a pleasure to not be bombarded with the billing and insurer paperwork for treatment and prescriptions with insane prices like in the US. It cannot be overstated, what a difference it makes to remove this stress from people’s lives. I’m convinced it’s a major explanation for the opioid problems and shorter lifespans in the US.
It would only bankrupt the country because of the other things you mention and those things can only be addressed with a UK or EU style national health system that cuts out the need for the private administrative costs and manages things like drug and physician costs. If you accept medical care should be a human right in a wealthy society, then medical care should be seen as a “public good” where it can be managed most efficiently in this way.
The problem is that people know they should exercise, know they should not eat junk food in stores and eat in fast food restaurants, know that they should not smoke even after warning labels are on cigarettes for 60 years but persist in choosing poor lifestyle. This and illegal drug use and alcohol.

We get Canadians in America who choose our healthcare even though they have their socialized medicine and they have to pay for our healthcare.
The reason is that our quality is better than in socialized medical systems.
You keep saying about these Canadians coming across for your very expensive, drug-dependent healthcare but have not quantified this, while the US citizens going north for their meds in person or by mail are a known quantity. Please put a figure on your claims before repeating them.
The Canadians come to America paying for their care because the healthcare is better, there are long waits for specialists and surgeries such as hip and knee replacement. The UK has similar issues.
It is not generally better but it is faster. And yes, if you wish to pay an extreme amount of money, you will get the latest high-tech experimental treatment which is not yet approved in Canada.