Unnecessary costs that drive premiums higher can be avoided. There are several ways we’ve been leading the shift to value-based care across the health care system.

Paying for Better Health: A Solution to Rising Health Care Costs

To help make medications more affordable for our members and group customers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network work to manage prescription drug costs and provide access to medicine members need through creative solutions. And we’re getting results.

Blue Cross Makes Prescription Drugs More Affordable for Members and Group Customers

We remain committed to working toward a fair agreement with Michigan Medicine — one that supports patients, protects employers and ensures a more affordable, sustainable future for health care in Michigan.

What’s Behind the University of Michigan Health System Contract Dispute with Blue Cross?

<div class="news-banner-wrapper">
  <a href="https://www.ahealthiermichigan.org/stories/podcast/real-solutions-to-rising-prescription-drug-costs" class="news-banner-link">
    <div class="news-banner">
      <div class="news-content">
        <span class="news-label">WATCH NOW:</span>
        <span class="news-text">Real Solutions to Rising Prescription Drug Costs</span>
      </div>
      <div class="news-content" aria-hidden="true">
        <span class="news-label">WATCH NOW:</span>
        <span class="news-text">Real Solutions to Rising Prescription Drug Costs</span>
      </div>
      <div class="news-content" aria-hidden="true">
        <span class="news-label">WATCH NOW:</span>
        <span class="news-text">Real Solutions to Rising Prescription Drug Costs</span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </a>
</div>
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<div class="stats-section no-bottom-spacing">
  <h1 class="main-heading">
    "Health Care Is Personal. Affordability Matters." <br>
    <a href="https://cdn.sanity.io/files/eztzxh9q/production/b67efb93c5adcc73c005996c37867d4edf20f307.mp4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="author">
      - Tricia Keith, President & CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
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<h2 class="sub-heading">What is Blue Cross Doing To Make Your Health Care More Affordable?</h2>

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<div class="stats-section2">
  <h2>Why Is My Health Insurance So Expensive?</h2>
  <div class="stats-container">
    
    <div class="stat-card">
      <h3 class="card-title">Surging Medical Costs</h3>
      <div class="icon-container">
        <img src="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/eztzxh9q/development/40b09759c286057c3e200bf131c4e742204164ad-438x360.png" alt="Medical Cost Increase">
      </div>
      <div class="content-container">
        <p>From 2005 to 2024, prices for medical care nearly tripled for a family of four, increasing about 41% faster than everyday prices, like groceries and gas.<sup>¹</sup></p>
      </div>
      <a href="https://www.bcbsm.mibluedaily.com/stories/affordability/why-is-my-health-insurance-so-expensive" class="cta-button" style="background-color: #0085CA; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; padding: 12px 8px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 600; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; margin-top: 15px; transition: background-color 0.3s ease;">Why is Health Care So Expensive?</a>
    </div>

    
    <div class="symbol">+</div>

    
    <div class="stat-card">
      <h3 class="card-title">Skyrocketing Drug Prices</h3>
      <div class="icon-container">
        <img src="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/eztzxh9q/development/8a653d4d815418a292d096508abc056f9c2202bd-438x360.png" alt="Skipped Pills Statistic">
      </div>
      <div class="content-container">
        <p>The median annual list price for a new, U.S. drug was over $370,000 in 2024, double the price from 2021.<sup>²</sup></p>
      </div>
      <a href="https://www.bcbsm.mibluedaily.com/stories/affordability/prescription-drug-prices-a-barrier-to-affordable-health-insurance" class="cta-button" style="background-color: #0085CA; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; padding: 12px 8px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 600; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; margin-top: 15px; transition: background-color 0.3s ease;">Why Are Prescription Drug Prices So High?</a>
    </div>

    
    <div class="symbol">+</div>

    
    <div class="stat-card">
      <h3 class="card-title">Paying for Care</h3>
      <div class="icon-container">
        <img src="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/eztzxh9q/development/fc86b01c913a0035846e507ffde7e26f8a589f00-438x360.jpg" alt="Care Cost Graph">
      </div>
      <div class="content-container">
        <p>Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan paid an average of $107 million per day for the care and benefits of members in 2025. That is $19 million more per day than 2023.</p>
      </div>
      <a href="https://www.bcbsm.mibluedaily.com/stories/affordability/the-old-way-of-paying-for-health-care-needs-to-change" class="cta-button" style="background-color: #0085CA; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; padding: 12px 8px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 600; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; margin-top: 15px; transition: background-color 0.3s ease;">Why is Health Care Used So Much?</a>
    </div>

    
    <div class="symbol">=</div>

    
    <div class="stat-card">
      <h3 class="card-title">Premium Pressures</h3>
      <div class="icon-container">
        <img src="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/eztzxh9q/development/6d954f78ef14c76f1a9d83b5194514de6a8fb664-1024x768.png" alt="Expensive System Image">
      </div>
      <div class="content-container">
        <p>In 2025, for every $1 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan collected in premiums, we paid $1.02 for our members' care.</p>
      </div>
      <a href="https://www.bcbsm.mibluedaily.com/stories/affordability/how-surging-health-care-use-affects-your-insurance" class="cta-button" style="background-color: #0085CA; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; padding: 12px 8px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 600; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; margin-top: 15px; transition: background-color 0.3s ease;">Is Health Insurance the Problem?</a>
    </div>
  </div>
  <h2 class="second-heading">Why Does This Matter for Me?</h2>
</div>

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  <p class="subtext">
    Your health insurance costs are the end of the cost equation. They reside downstream. Upstream are the costs within the health care system itself. The costs of medical care charged by hospitals and doctors. The price of prescription drugs. The cost of administration and continually evolving technology. These upstream costs flow downstream into your health insurance premium. This is why we are calling for systemwide solutions. We all serve you — and we owe it to you to work together to solve problems that are driving your health insurance premiums higher.
  </p>
</div>

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<div class="stand-for-section">
  <h2>Here's What We Stand For</h2>
  <p class="stand-for-subtext">We will not rest while health care costs weigh more heavily on our members' budgets. We will continue to work with doctors and hospitals to improve quality and lower the cost of the health care, improve health outcomes and explore new types of drugs and treatments at lower costs.</p>
  <p class="italic-subtext">Click the cards to learn more.</p>
</div>

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<div class="affordability-closing">
    <h2 class="closing-heading">We act in service to our members and customers — always.</h2>
    <p class="closing-text">
        The cost of accessing health care services matters. It concerns us every day. Because health care is personal to every single member we serve, it must be affordable. This is why we are calling for system-wide solutions. We all serve you — and we owe it to you to work together to solve problems that are driving your health insurance premiums higher.
    </p>
</div>

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<div class="source-references">
  <p class="bcbsm-link">
    <a href="https://www.bcbsm.com/individuals/help/buying-insurance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bcbsm.com</a>
  </p>
  <p class="source-label">Sources</p>
  <p class="source-links">
    <sup>¹</sup> <a href="https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/2025-milliman-medical-index" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2025 Milliman Medical Index </a>,
    <sup>²</sup> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/prices-new-us-drugs-doubled-4-years-focus-rare-disease-grows-2025-05-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters</a>
  </p>
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Affordability

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