Behind the Headlines is a publication of the Texas Hospital Association designed to help readers make sense of the complex healthcare news and policy environment. It provides hospital-relevant news summaries, the impact of health policies in local communities and analysis of the key issues shaping care delivery in Texas.
Contact: Carrie Williams, Chief Communications Officer, 512/465-1052
The “Chart of the Century”
June 1, 2026
A viral graphic dubbed the “Chart of the Century,” based on consumer price index (CPI) data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is fueling conversations around affordability, and shows hospital services as the fastest-rising in a list of consumer costs between January 2000 and December 2025.
Prices & Patient Peace of Mind
May 26, 2026
Patients don’t access healthcare in insurance headquarters or pharmaceutical boardrooms. They experience it in hospitals, emergency rooms and clinics. All roads – from reimbursement cuts, rising drug costs and insurer-driven reforms to supply and salary inflation – lead to increased operating costs for hospitals and ultimately, raise the price for patients. Yet patients still expect that when they need care, a hospital will be there, and that they’ll be able to afford the bill afterward.
Mind the (Access) Gap
May 18, 2026
Texas is facing a growing healthcare access crisis. Rising costs, shrinking affordability and coverage instability are making it harder for Texans to seek care when they need it most. As patients delay treatment, hospitals must manage more severe illnesses, longer stays and higher uncompensated costs while already operating under financial strain.
Health Care Cost Chokehold
May 11, 2026
Everyone is talking about how health care costs are too high, and rumor is that hospitals are mostly to blame. The major drivers pushing up the cost of care – labor, reimbursement and demand – are well documented. But so is the cost to sustain the critically expensive and heavily regulated hospital operations. Insurance blames hospitals, think tanks blame consolidation and patients left holding the bill blame a broken system.