Modest uptick projected in US health care spending growth rate in 2015

After a five-year contraction in employer health care spending growth, medical inflation in the USA is projected to rise to 6.8% t in 2015, according to PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) Health Research Institute (HRI).

In its annual report, Medical Cost Trend: Behind the Numbers, HRI projects that the stronger economy is now reaching the health sector, releasing a pent-up demand for care and services. Despite some higher utilization and the cost of expensive new cures, the higher expected growth rate in 2015 is modest compared to the double-digit annual increases seen throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, the fact that health spending continues to outpace Gross Domestic Product (GDP) underscores the need for a renewed focus on productivity, efficiency and ultimately delivering better value for health care customers, the report states.

Confident consumers are spending more freely on health care due to the improved economy as well as increasing numbers of newly-insured, and HRI expects that trend to continue through next year. In addition, the high costs of specialty drugs will increase the health care spending growth rate, according to HRI.