Health Care Cost Institute
Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) is an independent, non-profit research institute founded in 2011 that maintains the most comprehensive multi-payer commercial claims dataset on the U.S. employer-sponsored insurance population and licenses it to academic, policy, and non-profit users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Health Care Cost Institute does
Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) is an independent, non-profit research institute founded in 2011 and headquartered in Washington, DC. It maintains what it describes as the most comprehensive multi-payer commercial claims dataset available to non-commercial users in the United States, covering approximately one-third of the employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) population — roughly 38 million lives and over 1.3 billion medical and pharmacy claims. Its published outputs draw on data contribution agreements with Aetna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealthcare.
HCCI's core product surface is built around four deliverables: (1) the annual Health Care Cost and Utilization Report (HCCUR), tracking year-over-year and five-year spending and utilization trends in employer-sponsored insurance; (2) the Health Cost Landscape, an interactive metro- and state-level tool breaking spending into use, price, and service-mix components; (3) HealthPrices.org, a free consumer-facing price transparency resource; and (4) the ESI Data Access Hub, which licenses claims data to qualified academic researchers, policymakers, and non-profit organizations. Supplementary products include Health Care Vitals, the Healthy Marketplace Index (HMI), State Fact Sheets for all 50 states and DC, and Tableau Public dashboards.
HCCI operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit research institute, with revenue derived from data licensing to academic, policy, and non-profit users, plus foundation grants (notably Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funding the HMI project). The organization partners with the International Federation of Health Plans (iFHP) for international cost comparisons. Its distribution model combines direct licensing for data customers with free, self-serve public access for transparency tools, supported by content marketing through research publications, email newsletters, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, webinars, and Tableau Public dashboards.
Health Care Cost Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Health Care Cost Institute
- Legal name
- Health Care Cost Institute Inc.
- Website
- https://healthcostinstitute.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) is an independent, non-profit research institute founded in 2011 that maintains the most comprehensive multi-payer commercial claims dataset on the U.S. employer-sponsored insurance population and licenses it to academic, policy, and non-profit users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Health Care Cost Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Data Analytics
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Healthcare Utilization, Claims & Administrative Data Analytics (HLAJAJAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Economic Evaluation & Health Technology Assessment (Public Programs) (HLAJANAL), Health Information Exchange & Public Health Data Integration (HLAJAJAD)
Keywords
Where Health Care Cost Institute is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Health Care Cost Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Data Licensing: License access to commercial claims data to academic researchers, policymakers, and non-profit organizations. This is the primary revenue stream supporting operations as a non-profit research institute.
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Health Care Cost Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) licenses access to a multi-payer commercial claims dataset covering approximately one-third of the US employer-sponsored insurance population (38 million people, over 1.3 billion medical claims) to academic researchers, policymakers, and non-profit organizations. It also publishes independent research reports, interactive web tools (Health Cost Landscape, Health Care Vitals, HealthPrices.org), and state-level fact sheets analyzing US healthcare spending, prices, utilization, and market dynamics.
Product overview
The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) is a non-profit, independent research organization that operates as a platform-plus-research institute model. Its core offerings include the Health Care Cost and Utilization Report (annual spending analysis), the Health Cost Landscape interactive web tool, the HealthPrices.org consumer transparency portal, and the ESI Data Access Hub for commercial claims data licensing. These products are supported by downloadable Data Tools and Tableau Public dashboards, with supplementary research products like the Healthy Marketplace Index and State Fact Sheets. The organization leverages unique medical and pharmacy claims data covering approximately one-third of the employer-sponsored insurance population in the U.S.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Health Cost Landscape: Interactive tool providing metro area and state-level data on healthcare spending, including use, prices, and mix of services
- Health Care Vitals
- HealthPrices.org
- Health Care Cost and Utilization Report (HCCUR)
- ESI Data Access Hub
Products and services
- Health Care Cost and Utilization Report (HCCUR) Annual report examining year-over-year and five-year cumulative trends in health care spending for individuals with employer-sponsored insurance, covering inpatient, outpatient, physician, and prescription drug services.
- Health Cost Landscape Interactive web tool providing metro area and state-level data on health care spending, breaking down factors that contribute to spending including use, prices, and mix of services across US metropolitan areas.
- HealthPrices.org Free patient-facing health care price transparency tool designed to help individuals understand and compare health care costs.
- Health Care Vitals Interactive tool providing data on health care costs and utilization metrics.
- ESI Data Access Hub Platform providing licensed access to HCCI's multi-payer commercial claims dataset covering one-third of the US employer-sponsored insurance population, made available to academic researchers, policymakers, and non-profit organizations.
- Data Tools Interactive tools and downloadable data sets including Tableau Public dashboards for visualizing health care spending and price information.
- Healthy Marketplace Index (HMI) Report examining relative health care prices in metropolitan areas, comparing commercial health care markets using price and utilization indices across 112 metropolitan areas.
- State Fact Sheets State-level data compilations summarizing health care cost trends and drivers for all 50 US states and DC.
Quantifiable outcome
- 88% of metropolitan areas were found to have highly or very highly concentrated hospital markets
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Health Care Cost Institute
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Health Care Cost Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Health Care Cost Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- AetnacoreMajor insurance company contributing claims data to HCCI's multi-payer commercial claims dataset, enabling comprehensive analysis of healthcare spending for the commercially insured population.
- HumanacoreMajor insurance company contributing claims data to HCCI's multi-payer commercial claims dataset, enabling comprehensive analysis of healthcare spending for the commercially insured population.
- Kaiser PermanentecoreMajor insurance company contributing claims data to HCCI's multi-payer commercial claims dataset, enabling comprehensive analysis of healthcare spending for the commercially insured population.
- UnitedHealthcarecoreMajor insurance company contributing claims data to HCCI's multi-payer commercial claims dataset, enabling comprehensive analysis of healthcare spending for the commercially insured population.
- International Federation of Health Plans (iFHP)minorGlobal health insurance executive network collaborating with HCCI on international healthcare cost comparison reports, comparing costs across nine countries.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Health Care Cost Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Urban Institute: Non-profit policy research organization with a substantial Health Policy Center analyzing healthcare spending, insurance markets, and Medicare/Medicaid data, making it a strong comparable on mission and methodological depth.
- West Health: Family of non-profits focused on lowering healthcare costs for seniors and improving price transparency, with policy research and data work that overlaps HCCI's healthcare cost and transparency mission.
- NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent research institution with deep healthcare analytics capabilities, including claims-data studies for federal and state clients; comparable to HCCI in producing rigorous, third-party health services research products.
- The Commonwealth Fund: Private non-profit foundation focused on healthcare system performance, access, and cost in the US, publishing comparable health services research and policy briefs aimed at the same researcher, policymaker, and journalist audience as HCCI.
- KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation): Independent non-profit health policy research organization producing data, polling, and analysis on US healthcare—including the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker—overlapping directly with HCCI's mission of independent, data-driven healthcare cost research.
Broad incumbents
- Peterson Center on Healthcare: Non-profit foundation funding healthcare cost and performance research, including the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker; related mission and funding role to HCCI's research dissemination work.
- RAND Corporation: Large, well-established non-profit research institution with a broad portfolio that includes substantial health services research on costs, quality, and access—a broader incumbent with overlapping research methods and audiences.
- Mathematica Policy Research: Large non-profit policy research firm with extensive work on healthcare claims analysis, evaluation, and program assessment for federal and foundation clients; comparable on methodology and customer base.
Regional players
- Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC): Colorado-based non-profit administering the state's all-payer claims database (CO APCD) and producing healthcare cost and utilization analyses for regional audiences—a comparable but geographically focused claims-data research model.
Emerging players
- Health Affairs: Leading peer-reviewed health policy journal with affiliated research publications and data analyses; not a direct producer of claims data but an important adjacent venue and amplifier in the same healthcare cost research ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Health Care Cost Institute social profiles
Digital presenceHealth Care Cost Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Health Care Cost Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Health Care Cost Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Health Care Cost Institute M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Health Care Cost Institute
What does Health Care Cost Institute do?
Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) licenses access to a multi-payer commercial claims dataset covering approximately one-third of the US employer-sponsored insurance population (38 million people, over 1.3 billion medical claims) to academic researchers, policymakers, and non-profit organizations. It also publishes independent research reports, interactive web tools (Health Cost Landscape, Health Care Vitals, HealthPrices.org), and state-level fact sheets analyzing US healthcare spending, prices, utilization, and market dynamics.
Is Health Care Cost Institute a public or private company?
Health Care Cost Institute is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Health Care Cost Institute founded?
Health Care Cost Institute was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Health Care Cost Institute based?
Health Care Cost Institute is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Health Care Cost Institute make money?
One revenue line is on record: data Licensing.
Who are Health Care Cost Institute's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Urban Institute, West Health, NORC at the University of Chicago, The Commonwealth Fund and KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). Broad incumbents are Peterson Center on Healthcare, RAND Corporation and Mathematica Policy Research. Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) is listed as a regional player. Health Affairs is listed as an emerging player.
Does Health Care Cost Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for Health Care Cost Institute.
What industry is Health Care Cost Institute in?
Health Care Cost Institute's product category is Healthcare Data Analytics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAJAJAK, Healthcare Utilization, Claims & Administrative Data Analytics, with a secondary code of HLAJANAL, Economic Evaluation & Health Technology Assessment (Public Programs). Its SIC code is 8000.