Forbes November 8, 2023
Robert Pearl, M.D.

Not long ago, I opened a new box of cereal and found a lot fewer flakes than usual. The plastic bag inside was barely three-quarters full.

This wasn’t a manufacturing error. It was an example of shrinkflation.

Following years of escalating prices (to offset higher supply-chain and labor costs), packaged-goods producers began facing customer resistance. So, rather than keep raising prices, big brands started giving Americans fewer ounces of just about everything—from cereal to ice cream to flame-grilled hamburgers—hoping no one would notice.

This kind of covert skimping doesn’t just happen at the grocery store or the drive-thru lane. It’s been present in American healthcare for more than a decade.

What Happened To Healthcare Prices?

With the passage of the...

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Topics: Employer, Govt Agencies, Healthcare System, Insurance, Patient / Consumer, Pricing / Spending, Provider
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