Rising healthcare costs be damned; the industry and federal regulators continue to attempt to reign in outlandish prices. But, according to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs, hospital payment rates to private insurance have grown much faster than to Medicare and Medicaid.

Researchers reviewed payments for inpatient hospital stays, emergency department visits, and outpatient care from 1996 to 2016, finding private charges rose as much as five times the rate of Medicare during that period.

The study used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey run by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which surveys families, individuals, providers, and employers on healthcare costs. Per the data, private payment rates rose significantly from 1996 to 2012.

In 2000, private insurer payment rates for emergency department visits were about 140% above Medicare’s payment rate. Twelve years later, in 2012, those rates were 60% higher, to 200%.

In 2012, payment rates of private payers began to level off. Researchers didn't expand on the reasons for the cause of the gap or the reason payment rates for private payers leveled off from 2012 to 2016, claiming the typical response from researchers: More research is needed to figure out why.

But for some additional perspective, researchers say that private insurers’ payment rates for an average inpatient hospital stay were 66% more than Medicare’s payment rate in 2013. Following them through 2016, these rates were 50% greater than Medicare, a slight decline in the previous increase, the study said.

“More research is needed into not only the causes of rapid private insurance payment increases but also the consequences of those differences,” the study authors wrote.

Negotiated rates decide payments for most hospital patients through private insurers and the health system. Public prices are set administratively by public payers.

Researchers note that the tracking of the increases in charges is “highly relevant” regarding framing or reframing the national debate over patients’ “surprise” billing and out-of-network care.

When inpatient stays of all payment types and standardized charges rose from 170% of standardized Medicare payment rates in 1996 to 411% in 2012, there's plenty of reason for the argument of why prices continue to skyrocket and how policymakers and corporate leaders can potentially initiate efforts to slow or curb the constant rises.

According to reporting by Fierce Healthcare, the study comes as Congress is considering how to handle surprise medical bills that occur from out-of-network care. The Trump administration has put forth a couple initiatives to address high prices. These efforts require hospitals and insurers to publish on rates of services so that consumers can better shop potential services.

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, some Democratic presidential contenders are pushing for “Medicare for All" to do away with private insurance but would move to a government-only run, single-payer healthcare system.

Outside the Democrats, people opposing a government-run healthcare system cite the government’s lack of fiduciary prowess and its inability to effectively manage budgets for the programs it leads. The Veterans Administration is one such example pointed to with vigor.