PwC stresses that companies need to understand the specific needs of employee populations and buy the best benefits at the best prices with the best outcomes. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Medical costs continue to trend higher, according to PwC's latest Behind the Numbers report. The firm's Health Research Institute is projecting a six percent increase in medical cost trends in 2020, which is a five percent net growth rate and higher than 2019's medical cost trend.
The report attributes these increases to three trends:
- Prices are continuing to fuel health care spending
- Utilization continues to be dampened by high deductibles and other cost-sharing
- Employer activism strategies are beginning to replace the cost-sharing in the past
"It's no longer just about the six percent trend," says Michael Thompson, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. "For employers, compared to other players in the healthcare industry, it is now about inequity in cost and misaligned incentives across the board."
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