Archived Insight | October 23, 2019

Healthcare Trends in 2020: Health Plan Cost Trend Survey

(Looking for the 2021 survey? Read it now.)

The projected increases in health plan costs for 2020 are similar to those from last year, but increases for high-cost specialty prescription drugs — such as those used in chemotherapy — should continue to skyrocket.

More than ever, plan sponsors need to decide how to balance coverage of what are often lifesaving drugs with overall plan affordability.

That’s just one insight from the 2020 Segal Health Plan Cost Trend Survey, our 23rd annual survey of managed care organizations (MCOs), health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and third-party administrators (TPAs), collectively representing more than 80 percent of the commercially insured and self-insured market.

Our comprehensive breakdown of tomorrow’s health care costs arms you with the data needed to maintain affordable health plans that also give your people the care they deserve.

Get the Publication

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Questions about the data?

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The key questions you need to ask yourself

Is your plan designing keeping up with the times?

With specialty drug trend driving prescription drug trend, now is a good time to consider plan design changes to manage the coverage of specialty drugs, such as promotion of lower-cost biosimilars.

Are your health plans placing too heavy a burden on your people?

Although health plan cost trends are relatively level, they continue to outpace both overall inflation and wage growth by a factor of more than two.

What kind of communications strategy will you use?

Greater transparency about health care costs and quality is the top cost-management strategy for plan sponsors.

The data laid out in the Segal Health Plan Cost Trend Survey can help you answer the questions that determine whether you offer financially feasible, comprehensive health benefits or burdensome plans leaving your people sick and broke.

Find out how the competition copes

As one of the most wide-reaching and definitive surveys on employer-sponsored health plans available, our survey provides unmatched insight into how other plan sponsors have tackled the growing challenge of health costs.

Top Five Health Plan Cost-Management Strategies in 2019

  1. Use of health care transparency tools
  2. Expanding Rx management for non-specialty drugs
  3. Expanding Rx management for specialty drugs
  4. Offering telehealth/virtual care
  5. Value-based contracting 

Find out more about how other plan sponsors manage to afford their health plans and whether your current strategy measures up. Get the 2020 survey. 

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This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice. You are encouraged to discuss the issues raised here with your legal, tax and other advisors before determining how the issues apply to your specific situations.