When insurers face higher hospital prices, they pass the costs on and raise the prices they charge for everyone’s health insurance. Using Serif Health’s pricing data, it is possible to see how mergers like the one that created Mission Hospital influence costs. The American Hospital Association has argued that hospital mergers can improve quality and reduce healthcare costs by creating “a fiscally sustainable environment.” A Mission Hospital spokesperson said comparing hospitals’ prices was unfair or misleading because their practices and constraints vary so much. Marcelle Crago, a nurse and lactation consultant, is one of many patients who have accused Mission Health, which operates Mission Hospital, of gouging consumers.