Healthcare costs continue to outpace the rate of inflation but the silver lining is that since 2003 the percentage rate of increases has diminished each year. According to employers and health plans, that trend is predicted to level off in 2009 and premium increases should be expected in the future. Changes in patient behavior and new technology have helped to limit recent medical cost increases in the recent past but these are being offset by multiple factors which are expected to reverse past trends and help drive medical cost increases in 2009. Some of these factors include:
- The healthcare industry is in an era of booming construction to replace plants and adjust to consumer demands, such as a preference for private hospital rooms and a move to outpatient venues.
- Cost-shifting from the uninsured, Medicare and Medicaid continues to increase and will account for nearly one in every four dollars spent by private payers in 2009. This trend is expected to continue because the federal government is underfunding public medical insurance programs while the number of uninsured is increasing.
- Wellness programs and initiatives to personalize the experiences of health plan members are on the rise.
- Employers will rely on prevention and disease management programs to temper costs in 2009 rather shifting higher levels of cost-sharing onto workers.
- The number of privately insured continues to slowly decrease, which increases cost shifting, makes it more difficult to control costs and increases competition among health plans as they try to keep cost growth in check without sacrificing member satisfaction.
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