Although medical costs increase yearly, next year's boost is projected to be 6.5%, down from the 7% estimated for this year, according to a report from global accounting firm PwC that was released Wednesday.
The cost trends report has been released annually for the past 15 years. For…
Dive Brief:
Employer medical costs are projected to rise 6.5% in 2022, according to PwC s annual report published Wednesday. That s slightly lower than the medical cost trend in 2021 and slightly higher than in 2016 through 2020.
A COVID-19 hangover leading to increased use of medical services and potentially higher acuity patients, along with digital investments, are key drivers of the expected spending growth.
A primary spending deflator is a greater reliance on lower-cost sites of care including virtual visits and retail clinics. Some emergency department visits especially lower-acuity ones may never return after the pandemic, according to the report.
Dive Insight:
Pandemic uncertainties led the consultancy to project this year s medical cost trend to rise anywhere between 4% and 10%, with it ultimately landing around 7%. Next year it s expected to rise 6.5%, and almost all of the driving factors can be attributed to fallout from the pandemic.
Due to a COVID-19 "hangover" marked by the increased use of medical services combined with more high-acuity patients and digital investments employer medical costs are projected to increase 6.5% in 2022, slightly lower than in 2021 and higher than the period from 2016-2020, according to an annual report published by PricewaterhouseCooper. Healthcare spending is expected
MedCity News
Telehealth aside, providers look to invest IT dollars in cloud services, data analytics
Though telehealth will continue to account for a large portion of healthcare IT budgets in 2021, there are other technology-based services driving provider interest. These range from cloud deployment to vaccine scheduling solutions as providers navigate the new landscape created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Provider IT spending is expected to grow from $113 billion last year to $131 billion in 2022, according to data from Gartner. This huge jump will of course include spending on virtual care services but there is more on providers’ minds.
With the shift to digital showing no signs of slowing down, providers are also looking at cloud services, vaccine scheduling solutions and data analytics to boost their clinical offerings and improve patient experience.
Patient volumes were uneven in 2020, and a new report shows volumes will likely remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2021. This indicates challenges for hospitals looking to stabilize their finances but there are some key strategies that can help.