STAT+: Hospital prices are soaring especially fast in Northern California. Here’s why

Northern California’s health care prices are soaring faster than anywhere else — and while Sutter Health’s stronghold is a big part of it, there’s more to the story.

California’s lawmakers have spent decades crafting well-intentioned rules designed to keep the state’s health care prices in check. But a new report shows that, clearly, something backfired.

The Golden State dominates a new list of U.S. regions that saw the highest growth in hospital prices paid by private insurers in recent years. Out of 19 such regions, 11 were in California, according to a Health Affairs study released Monday.

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