Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1065149
COSTS IN THE employer-based market will continue to climb during 2019, although the rise is not expected to be as steep as in previous years, according to the PwC Health Research Institute's (HRI) annual report, "Medical Cost Trend: Behind the Numbers 2019." The employer-based market covers roughly half of non-elderly Americans. "When you look at our medical cost trend over time, the projections, back in 2017, the double-digit increase year over year was almost 12 percentage points," says Benjamin Isgur, Leader of PwC HRI, which analyzes various sectors of health care. "We are projecting for 2019 something that is half of that, over 6 percentage points over the year before, which sounds like we have made a lot of great progress. ... The problem is, healthcare inflation still outpaces general inflation, so it's going at two to three times the inflation factor in terms of the rest of the economy." Several factors are expected to inflate medical costs during 2019, among them: + More access points for care. Additional service venues increase utilization in the short term. + Continuing mergers. Greater negotiating power and market share resulting from health system consolidation often boost prices. THE U.S. HE ALTHCARE SYSTEM HA S LONG OFFERED SOME OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED AND EFFECTIVE CARE AVAIL ABLE, BUT SUCCESS COMES WITH RISING COSTS. THOSE INCRE A SES DO NOT APPE AR TO BE OVER. Medical Costs Likely to Keep Climbing BY K ATY MENA-BERKLEY TRENDING IN 2019 " I think until we have real, transformational change, you will likely continue to see trend rates that are unpalatable." — BARBARA GNIEWEK, PRINCIPAL IN THE GLOBAL HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES PRACTICE AND THE NATIONAL PRACTICE LEADER FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE CONSULTING WITH PwC 1 2