Rising Health Care Costs

A new report has some good news for companies that provide health benefits for their employees about those benefits and their cost. P-w-C is projecting lower overall growth in medical costs for next year. It is expected to drop from a 7.5% increase this year to 6.5% for next year. Mike Thompson is with P-w-C’s Human Resource Services Practice.  He explains what that means for the average employee.  “They should expect more moderate increases in their health care costs.” The good news does not mean costs are dropping, adds Thompson. “They had dropped from 7.5% increase to 6.5% increase, so costs are still going up, they are not dropping, and they are just not going up as fast.” Thompson tells what that means for the average employee in terms of out of pocket costs.  “6.5% is the equivalent of about $350 per year, naturally most individuals don’t pay that out of pocket, their employers typically pick up 20-30% of that cost and so it might be another $50 for an individual’s coverage through their employer.” Accountable care organizations are a trend being credited for helping to contribute to a growth and focus on high performance networks.