Healthcare cost climbs for people with employer-sponsored health insurance: Thomson Reuters index

The Thomson Reuters Healthcare Spending Index for Private Insurance measures historical and current levels of per capita healthcare spending for individuals whose coverage is provided by self-insured employers — a segment that represents about 25 percent of U.S. healthcare expenditures.

The index is the most timely indicator of healthcare inflation available. Preliminary estimates are released quarterly, approximately 90 days after the period in which the healthcare services were used.

"The index is accurate and detailed because it's based on the healthcare utilization of millions of Americans," said Gary Pickens, chief research officer at the Thomson Reuters Center for Healthcare Analytics. "That allows us to report on cost trends overall and for key components — hospitals, physicians, drugs, and patients' out-of-pocket costs."

Spending for hospital care, for example, has increased faster than spending on physician services or prescription medicines in the past year. Hospital costs increased 8.2 percent, physician costs increased 5.5 percent, and drug costs increased 3.4 percent.

"The index helps employers and insurers benchmark their costs, healthcare providers understand their revenue streams, and policymakers monitor healthcare inflation and its implications," Pickens said. "We also can conduct custom analyses that break down the data by type of healthcare service, type of provider, geographic region, patient demographic subgroup, and other specifications."

Index estimates are based on the Thomson Reuters MarketScan^® databases, a repository of healthcare claims for inpatient and outpatient services. The 2009-10 index represents the real-world treatment patterns and costs of more than 12 million employees and their dependents.

For a copy of the latest index findings, visit http://healthcarescience.thomsonreuters.com/Indexes/assets/EMP-9073_Spending_Index_Nov_Findings_1110_web.pdf.

To request more information, send an email to [email protected] or contact Julie Shook, product director, Thomson Reuters Center for Healthcare Analytics, at (734) 913-3706.

SOURCE Thomson Reuters