“…A common argument for this difference is that higher private insurance prices are due to underpayments by Medicare, Medicaid, and uncompensated-care patients. However, despite the difference in payment levels, empirical evidence does not support the theory that lower publicpayer prices cause higher private prices (White, 2013;Frakt, 2011;Frakt, 2014;Wagner, 2016;White and Wu, 2014). Instead, variation in private prices is explained by variations in reputation, quality, and negotiation leverage.…”