Employee Benefit News for School, City and County Employers

Projected Health Care Costs for 2024

Written by Erin Woulfe | Jul 24, 2023 12:13:59 PM

1 minute read

According to an annual report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), health care costs are expected to grow by 7% in 2024. This is due to rising pharmaceutical expenses, especially specialty drugs and insurers increasing rates due to inflation.

Supply chain disruption, high-cost medications, and drug shortages are also increasing health care costs. Increased health care utilization costs will also impact health care plans in 2024.

Despite rising costs, some trends are helping to ease this pressure. They include the expanded availability of biosimilar drugs and transitioning individuals from expensive inpatient hospital care to afford outpatient care.

Other factors that may impact health care costs include:

  • Price transparency rules
  • Behavioral health care utilization
  • Impacts of COVID-19
  • Value-based care investments
  • Health equity initiatives
  • Medicaid redeterminations

 

Takeaways

Employers will need to find new strategies, rework existing business models, and invest in technology to lessen the impact of health care costs on their organization. Understanding medical care cost trends can help employers act now to protect themselves against increasing health care costs and better support their employees. Download the bulletin for more details.