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Employer-sponsored medical plan costs expected to rise 8.4 percent

Costs for employer sponsored-medical plans in 2018 could increase by nearly triple the projected rate of inflation, as global risk factors such as high blood pressure, physical inactivity and obesity increase.

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert | Updated on December 18, 2017
The top-reported conditions giving rise to adverse claim experience around the world are cancer, cardiovascular ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and respiratory conditions. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Costs for employer sponsored-medical plans in 2018 are likely to rise 8.4 percent – nearly triple the projected rate of inflation, as global risk factors such as high blood pressure, physical inactivity and obesity increase, according to Aon’s report, “2018 Global Medical Trend Rates.”

For 2018, the gap between the average medical trend rate and the average general inflation rate is expected to modestly decrease to 5.3 percentage points from the corresponding 5.4 figure in 2017. The average nominal medical trend rate is expected to increase 0.2 percentage points: For 2018, the global average medical trend rate was 8.4 percent and the average general inflation rate was 3.1 percent. In 2017, the global average medical trend rate was 8.2 percent and the average general inflation rate was 2.8 percent.

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Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.

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