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Health costs are increasing, and that affects consumers.

• Annual US health spending accounts for 14% of GDP, approximately $1.4 trillion.
  
• Already the largest sector of the US economy, health spending is projected to double to $2.8 trillion by 2011.
  
• Projected health insurance premium increases for this year are – on average – in the range of 13-15%.

Two-thirds of Americans have employer-sponsored health coverage, and soaring health care costs present pressing challenges for business, large and small. As employers shift health care costs to their employees, individual employees are increasingly affected by rising health expenses. Unless unchecked, health benefits will become a larger share of most workers’ total compensation over the next decade.

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Consumers need to be more engaged. A number of factors are driving health cost increases, ranging from provider consolidation to regulatory mandates to technological advances. Consumer expectations are also significant. Consumers expect a lot from the system — high quality, attentive providers, short waiting times— and that's how it should be. However, consumers typically do not expect to pay much for health care. Instead, they expect an insurance company or someone else to pick up most of the tab. The long tradition of third-party payment for health care services has conditioned consumers to think of health care as essentially free.

Consumer expectations also affect individual health choices. Research shows that a significant proportion (up to 40%) of health care expenses are due to controllable lifestyle factors (such as diet, exercise, and smoking) — and that up to one-third of health care expenses may be for unnecessary, duplicative, or poor quality care. Consumers don't live as healthily as they could in part because they don't see the financial consequences of their personal health choices. And a significant reason why consumers don’t use health resources carefully is that they are paying only a fraction of the full price.

Consumers must be engaged to manage and control rising health costs.

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Consumer education can help – and must be a priority. Can consumer education make a difference for you? In a word, yes. Health care is not free. We all pay the price, directly and indirectly, for rising health care costs. But because of the role that consumer expectations play in driving up health care costs, changing consumer expectations through education offers an important opportunity for employers, insurers, and others to control rising health costs.

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Accurium has the skills and experience to help you. We can help you develop a comprehensive consumer education program to promote smart lifestyle choices, develop consumer health skills, and increase financial awareness. Our professionals have demonstrated expertise in health education, communications, health policy, employee benefits, law and other disciplines to make a difference for you and your organization. Please contact us for more information.

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