What happened in this Health story?

Ascendiun president and CEO Paul Markovich argues that a federal affordability office should enforce health care cost growth at or below inflation, using California’s cost-target model to discipline spending without relying on larger subsidies.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**The U.S. health care system** left more than 27 million Americans uninsured in 2024, while millions more had coverage they could not afford to use and the average employer-sponsored family premium reached nearly $27,000 annually.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Federal subsidies** can provide short-term relief, but Markovich argues they cannot sustainably solve affordability as federal debt exceeded $40 trillion in August and nearly 70% of non-interest spending goes to health care and income support such as Social Security.

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Markovich Proposes Federal Health Cost Growth Targets — SkimNews

By STAT News · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-11-02

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The U.S. health care system left more than 27 million Americans uninsured in 2024, while millions more had coverage they could not afford to use and the average employer-sponsored family premium reached nearly $27,000 annually.
Federal subsidies can provide short-term relief, but Markovich argues they cannot sustainably solve affordability as federal debt exceeded $40 trillion in August and nearly 70% of non-interest spending goes to health care and income support such as Social Security.
A national office of health care affordability would require systemwide cost-growth thresholds at or below inflation, use corrective action and progressive financial penalties for noncompliance, and verify that savings lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
Office of Health Care Affordability sets enforceable targets for California’s entire health care sector and individual organizations, aims for growth near 3% in line with wages and begins fines in 2028; California is the first state to combine cost transparency with financial enforcement after eight states adopted targets over the past decade.
Blue Shield of California supports the approach alongside SEIU, the Purchasers Business Group on Health and Health Access California, creating backing from insurers, labor, large businesses and consumer groups; the model also promotes value-based payments and primary-care investment.
California’s hospital association sued to block the targets, arguing they do not reflect providers’ real cost pressures; Markovich says those concerns deserve a serious answer while maintaining that the underlying cost forces are national.

Why it matters: For families and employers facing an average $27,000 annual family premium, the proposal requires savings to reach premiums and out-of-pocket costs instead of relying on larger federal subsidies. California’s financial penalties begin in 2028, making hospitals, insurers and other organizations accountable for missing the near-3% growth goal.