PricewaterhouseCoopers: Behind the numbers: Medical cost trends for 2011
Generic drugs, the normalization of COBRA costs, and employees paying more out-of-pocket costs will bring down employers' cost of healthcare next year.
6/15/2010
Medical costs in 2011 for employers will decrease slightly from 9.5 percent to 9 percent. The drop results from the proliferation of generic drugs, normalization of COBRA costs, and employees paying more out-of-pocket costs for medical care.
Healthcare reform's biggest changes will take effect in 2014. Some factors that will influence healthcare include a requirement that forces insurance companies to cover dependents to age 26, no lifetime limits on coverage, and subjection to medical loss ratios. As a result, insurance companies, providers, and pharmaceutical companies may change their services, prices, products, and policies. Anticipation of higher demand may push prices up.
The full repercussions of healthcare reform will play out over a decade, PwC says. Long-term changes will include reducing cost-shifting from the uninsured, changing the payment system for providers, creating new markets for health insurance, and an excise tax on high premium plans starting in 2018.
Project Announcements
JDSAT Expands Fairfax County, Virginia, Operations
04/25/2024
Trussworks Mid-America Plans Jackson, Missouri, Manufacturing Operations
04/25/2024
Epic Flight Academy Establishes Hebron, Kentucky, Operations
04/25/2024
EPC-Columbia Expands Lebanon, Kentucky, Plastic Injection Molding Operations
04/25/2024
Daisy Brand Plans Boone, Iowa, Production Operations
04/22/2024
Canfor Expands Fulton, Alabama, Production Operations
04/22/2024
Most Read
-
2023's Leading Metro Locations: Hotspots of Economic Growth
Q4 2023
-
2023 Top States for Doing Business Meet the Needs of Site Selectors
Q3 2023
-
38th Annual Corporate Survey: Are Unrealized Predictions of an Economic Slump Leading Small to Mid-Size Companies to Put Off Expansion Plans?
Q1 2024
-
Making Hybrid More Human in 2024
Q1 2024
-
Manufacturing Momentum Is Building
Q1 2024
-
20th Annual Consultants Survey: Clients Prioritize Access to Skilled Labor, Responsive State & Local Government
Q1 2024
-
Public-Private Partnerships Incentivize Industrial Development
Q1 2024