Outpatient service charges are estimated to cause a 29.9% spike in healthcare premiums in 2017, much higher than the 14.3% projected for medications.
At 27.4%, outpatient spending far exceeded the 17.7% that health plans spent on drugs in 2015. This, according to Avalere Health, means outpatient service charges will cause a 29.9% spike in healthcare premiums in 2017, much higher than the 14.3% projected for medications.
The company’s projections for 2017 are similar to their findings for 2016—Avalere found that outpatient spending accounted for 28.9% of premium increases, the highest across 6 categories:
Interestingly, the analysis found that the costs for inpatient care and would contribute only 15.4% of premium increases in 2017, despite nearly 20% spent on inpatient care in 2015. This contradicts the 2016 estimates, where 21.7% spending in 2014 claims were estimated to result in a 24.5% increase in 2016 premiums.
For the current analysis, Avalere used 2015 claims data from 9 states that would influence the individual and small group market in 2017: Connecticut, Maryland, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington. Grandfathered plans and short-term products were excluded from the analysis. The categories remained the same as for the previous year, and the issuer’s 2017 Universal Rate and Review Templates, which contains issuers’ historical and expected member utilization, was used. “Other costs,” included non-capitated primary care, specialist, therapy, the professional component of laboratory and radiology, and other professional services, other than hospital based professionals whose payments are included in facility fees.
Once the proportion of proposed premium increases in 2017 were estimated for each category, they were compared with the actual spending reported for the same market in 2015. A caveat was that Avalere did not weight the analysis by health plan enrollment and all 9 states were weighted equally. However, the influence of drug spend on premium increases varied across the states: it was higher in 5 of the 9 states examined.
Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at Avalere, said, “Preliminary data indicate that drugs are not likely to have a disproportionate impact on premiums in 2017. Instead, outpatient spending continues to drive premium increases.”
Standard Criteria for Loss of Ambulation Needed in DMD
April 19th 2024A recent study suggests the differences between ambulation definitions for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can impact the identification of ambulant vs nonambulant individuals, and standard criteria across settings are needed.
Read More
Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
Listen
An Overview of Health Care and Pharmaceutical Trends, 2023-2024
April 19th 2024Douglas M. Long, BA, MBA, was featured as the keynote speaker on the closing day of The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting, with a session dedicated to surveying the health care and pharmaceutical trends of the last year.
Read More
Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
Listen
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights Into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
Read More
Standard Criteria for Loss of Ambulation Needed in DMD
April 19th 2024A recent study suggests the differences between ambulation definitions for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can impact the identification of ambulant vs nonambulant individuals, and standard criteria across settings are needed.
Read More
Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
Listen
An Overview of Health Care and Pharmaceutical Trends, 2023-2024
April 19th 2024Douglas M. Long, BA, MBA, was featured as the keynote speaker on the closing day of The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2024 annual meeting, with a session dedicated to surveying the health care and pharmaceutical trends of the last year.
Read More
Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
Listen
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights Into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
Read More
2 Commerce Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512