Behind The Numbers: 2010 Medical Costs and Their Impact on 2009 Employer Decisions

• Which cost drivers will have the greatest impact on growth acceleration
• How employers will deal with medical cost projections
• How employers will reconcile health plan expense growth with current economic demands
• Which plan design changes employers will seek as they deal with cost increases

Unlike health plan premium forecasts, medical cost trends reflect the projected increase in the costs of medical services. They are the “numbers behind the numbers” and are used by health insurers to estimate what it will cost to provide coverage in the coming year and to set premiums. Insurers and employers use the trend projections to design the benefit packages that will be offered to workers this coming fall.

Each year, PricewaterhouseCoopers surveys more than 500 employers and private, not-for-profit health plans for its annual report, Behind the Numbers: Medical Cost Trends for 2010, the results of which will be presented during the webinar. The report identifies the key factors that will act as accelerators and decelerators to healthcare costs in 2010.

Last year’s report predicted that actual medical costs were expected to grow 9.6% in 2009. Should the recession continue into 2010, it could result in higher costs, since medical price growth historically has risen faster during periods of recession. This year’s analysis will take an especially close look at the effects of both the recession and health reform on medical cost trends. Even after the U.S. economy recorded its worst contraction in a quarter century in late 2008 and early 2009, medical costs continued to grow. The perplexing contrast of growing health spending amid a deflated general economy will present employers with unique challenges for their 2010 healthcare benefits.

The speakers will review the concrete cost projections laid out in the report and discuss how employers are likely to react as they make decisions regarding their 2010 health plan offerings.
 

• Where medical costs will be in 2010
• Which cost drivers will have the greatest impact on growth acceleration
• How employers will deal with medical cost projections
• How employers will reconcile health plan expense growth with current economic demands
• Which plan design changes employers will seek as they deal with cost increases

• C-Suite Executives
• Strategy and Planning Executives
• Actuarial Executives
• Informatics and Analytics Executives
• Marketing and Business Development Executives
• Business Intelligence Staff
• Employer Benefit Executives

Attendees would represent organizations including

• Health Plans
• Third Party Administrators
• Provider Networks
• Employers
• Benefit Consulting Firms
• Agents
• Solutions Providers
• Associations, Institutes and Research Organizations
• Media

Corporate Site licensing also available. Click here to register or call 209.577.4888 We look forward to your participation in this event!

Mike Thompson
Principal, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Jack Rodgers PhD
Director of Health Policy Economics, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Dr. Jack Rodgers has more than twenty-five years of experience with federal health policy and legislation related to health services and prescription drugs. He has written extensively about issues such as health insurance reform, Medicare provider reimbursement, and prescription drug coverage. While at PwC, Dr. Rodgers has assisted major healthcare organizations in evaluating the impact of federal legislation—from the Clinton health proposals in 1993-1994 to the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. During the past five years, he has written extensively on the impact of the Medicare prescription drug benefit on Medicare beneficiaries, health plans, employers, and pharmaceutical companies.
 
Dr. Rodgers' recent studies on medical trends, Behind the Numbers and The Factors Fueling Rising Healthcare Costs 2006 have been cited by USA Today, UPI, LA Times, Modern Healthcare, and other major news organizations. His 2004 report, The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: Potential Impact on Beneficiaries was summarized on the official Medicare website. Another study, The Potential Impact of Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit on Pharmaceutical Companies, was quoted on NBC news and by FactCheck.org at the time of the second presidential debate. Dr. Rodgers served as a consultant to President Clinton's White House Task Force on Health Reform as part of a group of experts who audited the quantitative estimates of the President's health reform plan.

Before joining PwC, Dr. Rodgers was principal analyst for health at the Congressional Budget Office for nine years where he worked on the 1987 Medicare prescription drug legislation and also analyzed the first Bush Administration’s proposals to expand coverage. He authored the CBO report, Selected Options for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage.
 

Rick Judy
Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Rick is a Principal in the Health Industries Advisory practice based in San Francisco. Rick joined the Health Industries Advisory practice in 1995, supporting healthcare clients on mergers and acquisitions, performance improvement, information technology and compliance related initiatives. During his years of consulting, Rick has worked in many segments of health care, including insurance companies, employers, hospitals, health systems, long-term care facilities, and community and government organizations. Over the past several years, Rick has been focused on:

• Sourcing Effectiveness

• Operational Assessment & Cost Reduction

• Large Scale Program Management

• Strategic Information Systems Assessment and Planning

• eBusiness Strategy through Implementation

• Product Strategy and Operational Readiness Assessments

• Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence

• IT and Operational Compliance