Health Affairs October 16, 2025
Editor’s Note
This article is the latest in the Health Affairs Forefront series, Provider Prices in the Commercial Sector, featuring analysis and discussion of physician, hospital, and other health care provider prices in the private-sector markets and their contribution to overall spending therein. Additional articles will be published throughout 2025. Readers are encouraged to review the Call for Submissions for this series. Health Affairs Forefront alone reviews all submissions then selects, edits, and publishes them only if they meet Forefront’s editorial standards. We are grateful to Arnold Ventures for their support of this work.
Firms in many industries operate under considerable complexity. Large manufacturers can require thousands of parts and supplies, hundreds of worker skillsets, and multiple software systems....







