Hospital prices paid by private insurers vary widely, report finds

Data: RAND; Map: Erin Davis/Axios VisualsPrivate health insurance on average pays hospitals 2.5 times what Medicare does for the same services, with some states seeing relative prices of more than 3 times greater, according to a new RAND report.Why it matters: The wide range of prices can't be explained by differences in quality, report authors said.While it's well established that…