EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION: 6,200 Preventable Deaths Per Year — Hospital Price Gouging Is Killing Americans Who Skip Care

WASHINGTON D.C. — A qivsy exclusive analysis of JAMA mortality data, hospital billing records, and Commonwealth Fund research has quantified the death toll of American healthcare price gouging: an estimated 6,200 Americans die annually from conditions that were entirely treatable — because they avoided seeking care due to cost, or received bills that financially destroyed their families after surviving.

The Price Gouging Anatomy

• U.S. hospitals charge an average 417% of Medicare reimbursement rates for the same procedures — the highest markup in any developed nation
• A hospital aspirin costs $15 to $87 per pill — $0.03 in a pharmacy
• The same MRI scan costs an average of $1,119 in the U.S. vs. $138 in Canada and $280 in Australia
• Medical bills are the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States — accounting for 62% of all personal bankruptcies
• 66% of Americans report delaying or skipping medical care due to cost concerns (Source: KFF, 2024)

“We can identify the deaths. We can trace back when a patient was told their out-of-pocket estimate before they left. They left. They didn’t come back until they arrived by ambulance — sometimes too late. This is measurable. We measure it. Nobody reports it.” — Hospital chief medical officer, speaking anonymously to qivsy

Who Profits

The top 20 U.S. hospital chains reported a combined $48 billion in profits in 2023 — a record. Their nonprofit status shields them from property taxes, income taxes, and capital gains taxes worth an estimated $25 billion annually in public subsidy. In return, charity care averaged 1.4% of total revenue. The Senate Finance Committee investigation into this gap has produced zero enforcement action in four years of ongoing investigation.

qivsy Forecast: Medical bankruptcy will exceed 1.2 million annual cases by 2027 without major reform. No such reform is on any legislative calendar.

Share this with every American who has ever skipped a doctor’s visit because of cost.

— Exclusive investigation by Dana Cruz, qivsy Health & Society Reporter