Willis Towers Watson’s 2017 Global Medical Trends Survey Report explores a question that continues to plague employers, namely: how can we provide effective medical benefits and promote better workforce health while also controlling costs?
It finds that employers are increasingly offering preventative care and empowering employees to take responsibility for their own health. The survey data shows that wellbeing programmes are offered by nearly half of employers in Europe and by a majority of employers in the Americas, a significant increase on last year’s survey, according to the report. Also on the rise are health risk assessments, second medical opinions, biometric screenings and lifestyle and health education. Moreover, these interventions are all projected to grow, some significantly, in the next year.
Insights into the drivers of medical costs and the most popular cost management techniques are provided by 231 insurers across 79 countries as part of the report.
Other key findings include:
- More than half of health insurers globally expect the trend in the rising cost of medical care to be higher or significantly higher over the next three years. Latin America leads all regions on trend, largely due to high inflation, while Europe continues to have the lowest trend due to the level of coverage provided through the various social security systems.
- Employers anticipate higher trend due to three major drivers: hospital/inpatient services and basic medical/outpatient services, including pharmacy: providers overprescribing too many services and employees seeking inappropriate care; plus new medical technology and higher provider profit.
- Cardiovascular disease, cancer and respiratory illness are projected by insurers worldwide to be the top three diseases for at least the next five years.
To download a PDF of the full report, go to https://www.willistowerswatson.com/en/insights/2017/05/2017-global-medical-trends-survey-report