Healthcare costs are expected to rise 7% next year as inflation drives providers to seek rate increases from insurers and pharmaceutical costs rise, according to PwC’s annual report.
The consultancy, which surveyed actuaries at insurers that offer group and individual plans, said the increase outstrips its predictions for 2022 and 2023, which were 5.5% and 6% respectively, Healthcare Dive reports.
Some trends are pushing costs down, like the availability of more biosimilar drugs and a shift toward cheaper outpatient care. A number of other factors are expected to be cost neutral but key to watch, including health plans’ investment in value-based care, COVID-19 impacts, behavioral healthcare utilization, health equity initiatives, price transparency rules and Medicaid redeterminations, PwC said. Read more.
