As adults transition to older adulthood, many, particularly those who develop complex, co-occurring health conditions, require care that addresses their growing and changing needs. Older adults also face obstacles navigating the healthcare system and obtaining the care they prefer, including difficulties in understanding complex health information due to low financial and health literacy;1 care fragmentation; and a lack of coordination among healthcare providers.2,3 These obstacles lead to increased medical costs and poorer health outcomes.4

Chronic diseases or conditions are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in the United States. FAIR Health Atlas, an epidemiological reporting platform to be launched in 2026, uses FAIR Health’s repository of commercial healthcare claim records—the largest in the nation—to measure prevalence and costs associated with chronic conditions.

Obesity is a common and serious disease. In recent years, a new class of medications for obesity has become available: glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.

This is the eighth annual edition of FH® Healthcare Indicators and FH® Medical Price Index, two measures developed by FAIR Health to provide perspective in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. Drawing on the independent nonprofit’s national database of billions of commercially insured healthcare claims—the largest in the country—these two measures apply different approaches to illuminate different aspects of the national healthcare sector, including, among other factors, trends in the place of service and billed charge and allowed amounts1 for professional services.