Why patients blame insurers for health care spending spike

Publication

Benefits Pro

Date

August 27, 2026

A recent survey highlighted by Healthcare Dive found that Americans continue to place primary responsibility for rising health care costs on insurers. That finding is hardly surprising. Insurance companies are the organizations patients interact with when they receive an explanation of benefits, learn that a service requires prior authorization, discover a physician is out of network, or watch premiums rise year after year. For many Americans, insurers have become the public face of health care financing, which means they also become the public face of health care frustration.

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