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The Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts released a preliminary report on its investigation into health care cost trends and cost drivers. The report found that health care costs in Massachusetts are increasing faster than the economy, and that current contracting practices between health insurance companies and health care providers have resulted in significant differences in compensation rates among hospitals and physicians that do not appear to be based on the complexity or quality of care provided. The investigation analyzed data from five health insurance companies and 15 health care providers, and found that prices paid to hospitals and physician groups vary significantly within the same geographic area, and that price variations are not correlated to quality of care, but rather to market leverage. The report also found that price increases, not increases in utilization, caused most of the increases in health care costs in Massachusetts, and that the commercial health care marketplace has been distorted by contracting practices that reinforce and perpetuate disparities in pricing.