Today patients benefit from value based care solutions but, ironically drug prices have risen phenomenally. Spending on medical services for people enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans increased 44% from 2007 to 2016. This was revealed in a study conducted by researchers from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).
Out-of-pocket spending among people availing to employer-sponsored coverage increased 43%. The distribution of overall spending by service didn’t change considerably over time. But, spending on outpatient services outpaced all others, which grew at an average of 5.7% per year.
The distribution of spending on out-of-pocket costs changed. As a matter of fact, out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs decreased from 32% in 2007 to 18% in 2016.
Savings from lower out-of-pocket spending on drugs were counterbalanced by increase in spending on the medical service categories as per the study. The out-of-pocket spending has moved away from prescriptions to medical services.
These findings were calculated using HCCI’s national sample of claims data. Per capita spending rose from $3,752 in 2007 to $5,394 in 2016, though not consistently. Fast growth was witnessed between 2007 and 2009, which slowed between 2010 and 2014. But, it again picked up pace in 2015 and 2016.