Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Rubber News
  • European Rubber Journal
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • HUMANITARIAN
  • News
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
    • BEST PLACES TO WORK
    • OBITUARIES
    • OPINION
    • MID YEAR REPORT
    • SERVICE ZONE
  • ADAS
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Custom
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
  • Resources
    • Events
    • DIRECTORY
    • CLASSIFIEDS
    • SHOP FLOOR
    • AWARDS
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Best Places to Work
  • ADVERTISE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
May 20, 2015 02:00 AM

Prescription drug costs drive rise in healthcare

Crain News Service
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    By Matt Dunning, Crain News Service

    WASHINGTON (May 20, 2015) — A sharp surge in prescription drug costs helped push healthcare costs for families insured under an average employer's health insurance plan up an estimated 6.3 percent in 2015, according to a new report by Milliman Inc.

    The cost of healthcare coverage for a family of four under an employer-sponsored PPO plan — including premiums and out-of-pocket expenses — rose to $24,671 on average, reversing the streak of declining annual growth rates witnessed during the previous four years, the Seattle-based actuarial firm said May 19 in its annual “Milliman Medical Index” report.

    The report's authors said the increased growth of healthcare costs for employer PPO-covered families — compared with a 5.4-percent rate of annual growth in 2014, the lowest in more than a decade — was due primarily to a 13.6-percent rise in prescription drug costs from 2014 to 2015 that resulted from the introduction of new specialty drugs, price increases on brand-name and generic prescriptions and an increase in the use of compound medicines.

    “A combination of forces is creating the perfect pharmaceutical storm,” the report's authors wrote, noting that prescription drug costs account for approximately 15.9 percent — or $3,913 per family — of total annual healthcare costs for employer PPO-covered families. “Employers and families alike feel the financial consequences more than ever when a prescription is filled.”

    The report also notes that employees and their families are shouldering a greater share of the cost of their healthcare than at any point since the passage of the federal healthcare reform law, and that their portion of the costs is growing at a faster annual rate than employers' portion.

    Milliman's report estimates that employers pay approximately 57.5 percent of the cost of family coverage in 2015, compared with 59.4 percent in 2010, and that the annual growth rate of employees' combined premiums and out-of-pocket expenses has outpaced employers' year-over-year cost growth by as much as 1.3 percent in each of the last five years.

    ________________________________________

    This report appeared on the website of Crain's Business Insurance magazine, a Chicago-based sister publication of Tire Business.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    Most Popular
    1
    Turbo Wholesale acquires Tire Wholesalers Inc.
    2
    Giti bringing premium tires, in-demand sizes to U.S. plant
    3
    Goodyear to halve capacity at Fulda plant, cut jobs
    4
    VIP Tires acquires Marshfield Tire in Massachusetts
    5
    TBC, Mavis complete deal for NTB, Tire Kingdom stores
    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    Reader Services
    • Staff
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HUMANITARIAN
    • News
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
      • BEST PLACES TO WORK
      • OBITUARIES
      • OPINION
      • MID YEAR REPORT
      • SERVICE ZONE
    • ADAS
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Custom
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • Resources
      • Events
        • ASK THE EXPERT
        • LIVESTREAMS
        • WEBINARS
        • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
        • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
      • DIRECTORY
      • CLASSIFIEDS
      • SHOP FLOOR
        • BALANCING
        • DEMOUNTING
        • SAFETY
        • TIRE REPAIR
        • TPMS
        • TRAINING
        • VEHICLE LIFTING
        • WHEEL TORQUE
      • AWARDS
        • Best Places to Work
    • ADVERTISE
    • DIGITAL EDITION