What You Need to Know About Rising Health Care Costs

By Matt All, President/CEO, BCBSKS

September 29, 2025

For decades, the biggest challenge in health care has been its high cost. For far too many Kansans, that cost means making difficult choices — including delaying medical care or prescriptions.

Kansans deserve a health care system they can trust — one that is affordable, easy to navigate and there when it matters most. We believe every Kansan deserves access to high-quality care that they can afford. But affordability isn’t just about insurance premiums.  It’s about the entire health care ecosystem, which is a complex mix of things — everything from what hospitals charge for routine services to the price of prescription drugs to how you access care.

We are about to move into the health insurance open enrollment period and want to share additional changes ahead.

President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law, and Americans will gain more flexibility in some areas of their health care. The law expands access to health savings accounts (HSAs) to reduce out-of-pocket costs and permanently extends the option for health plans to cover telehealth services before the deductible is met for individuals with high-deductible health plans and HSAs.

We’re disappointed that the OBBBA did not extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which were introduced in 2021 to make health insurance more affordable. These tax credits are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. Without them, many Kansans who purchase health insurance on the Marketplace may see steep increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

If that happens, many people may be forced into lower-tier plans with higher deductibles, or worse, may drop coverage altogether. That would not only hurt families — it would also destabilize the Marketplace by leaving fewer healthy individuals in the pool, which could drive premiums even higher.

In addition to policy changes, the overall cost of health care — including hospital services, outpatient care and medications — is rising sharply. So sharply, in fact, that industry experts project 2025 will bring the highest medical cost growth in over a decade⁠.

These increases aren’t arbitrary — they’re driven by the cost of care. Remember, premiums and out-of-pocket costs are a direct reflection of the cost of medical care. And when the prices of medical care go up, so does the cost of coverage. This is true even for not-for-profit health plans like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. Prices charged by hospitals and drug manufacturers are higher than ever, and those costs flow directly into premiums. Every day, we work to keep those costs down and protect our members. We know what’s at stake, and we’re fighting to make coverage more affordable.

As the state’s largest and only local, not-for-profit health plan, we serve our members and communities, not shareholders. Our focus is solely on our members — our fellow Kansans. Affordability has always been at the heart of any conversation about health care.  And it’s at the heart of our purpose at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. 

Those of us who work in health care have a responsibility to do everything we can to make care more affordable. At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, here’s how we’re working to hold down costs while protecting value:

• Partnering with providers. We are working side by side with hospitals and physicians on contracts that reward high-quality, efficient care. By focusing on value instead of volume, we can reduce unnecessary costs and improve outcomes for patients. And we’re pushing back when providers demand unsustainable increases.
• Tackling drug prices. Prescription drugs are one of the fastest-growing parts of health spending. We’re expanding access to generics and biosimilars, which provide the same treatment at a fraction of the cost. We’ve also joined with other Blue Plans to launch CivicaRx, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company that manufactures lower-cost versions of high-priced generic and specialty drugs.
• Remaining not-for-profit. Unlike for-profit insurers, we’re not here to maximize shareholder return. Every dollar we bring in is reinvested back into our members and communities. Our sole focus is serving Kansans — making coverage more affordable and care more accessible.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is well known — among providers, customers and across our industry — for our national award winning, exceptional customer service and experience.

That experience is key — it’s what keeps our members choosing Blue Cross as their health plan. We’re privileged to walk alongside Kansans through some of the most significant moments of their lives — the joyful and the heartbreaking.

We’ve been here for Kansans since 1942, and we promise to be here working for you for generations to come.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas

For more than 80 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers by providing outstanding customer service while quickly and accurately processing claims; fairly administering benefit plans and contracts; offering programs, services and tools to help members improve or maintain their health; and operating under the highest ethical standards while being good stewards of premium dollars. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.