State study: IU Health lowers healthcare prices for Hoosiers, exceeding national benchmark set by legislators

IU Health has led the way in making healthcare affordable for Hoosiers, starting in 2021 with our five-year Care Affordability Plan. So far, we’ve delivered $1.4 billion in savings from what commercial prices would have otherwise been to employers and patients through intentional price reductions for services that patients often use.

We have been committed to leading the state in making healthcare more affordable for Hoosiers and bringing our prices in line with national benchmarks, ensuring that families have access to world-class care.

Now, an independent study mandated by the Indiana General Assembly demonstrates the progress we’ve made on our commitment to affordable healthcare.

Key findings from the State of Indiana Hospital Price Benchmarking Analysis (PDF) of the five largest nonprofit hospital systems:

• IU Health’s combined inpatient, outpatient and physician services prices fell by 10 percentage points from 2022 through 2024.
• IU Health’s commercial prices have been materially lower than the statewide pricing benchmark of 285% in the state’s two most recent Milliman analyses. In 2024, our commercial prices were nearly 50 percentage points below the statewide benchmark as established by the Indiana General Assembly in HEA 1004 (2023).
• Among Indiana’s five largest non-profit hospital systems, IU Health has the lowest inpatient and outpatient prices under full Medicare.

"The state’s study validates the work we have been committed to at IU Health since 2020 – leading efforts to make care more affordable for Hoosiers," IU Health President and CEO Dennis Murphy said. "Our commercial prices are now below the national average, and we will continue these efforts because if healthcare isn’t affordable, it isn’t accessible."

Reporters across the state have been explaining the study and what it means for Hoosiers. Their coverage includes this story in Indianapolis, radio coverage in Fort Wayne, and television coverage in Terre Haute.

IU Health has made this progress even as labor, drug and supply costs soared. We lowered prices of services that patients often use: Radiology prices were reduced by 26%; Laboratory prices went down 62% on average; Outpatient pharmacy prices dropped 33% on average.

We’re proud to keep making progress on making care more affordable for Hoosiers, despite inflation and other cost pressures. We don’t want patients to experience the rising cost of healthcare through hospital price increases. We aim every year to fund our own inflation through operational efficiencies to keep care affordable for patients.

Follow IU Health on LinkedIn and visit this page to learn more about how IU Health is leading efforts to provide world-class care at an affordable price for Hoosier families and businesses, making Indiana one of the healthiest states in the nation.