The news that national health expenditures rose a modest 4.4 percent in 1996 is not likely to be repeated, according to a new estimate by Milliman & Robertson. Though M&R does not foresee an immediate return to the days of double-digit increases, its 1997 – 2000 health spending forecast predicts a moderate rise, due mostly to slightly higher inflation. M&R's formula, based on inflation (as well as out-of-pocket payment trends and real personal income levels) allows that a 1-percent increase in the consumer price index translates into a 0.67 percent boost in health expenditures. Less predictable, says M&R, are legislative efforts to regulate managed care's cost-control strategies–efforts that M&R says could force expenditures significantly higher.
Paul Lendner ist ein praktizierender Experte im Bereich Gesundheit, Medizin und Fitness. Er schreibt bereits seit über 5 Jahren für das Managed Care Mag. Mit seinen Artikeln, die einen einzigartigen Expertenstatus nachweisen, liefert er unseren Lesern nicht nur Mehrwert, sondern auch Hilfestellung bei ihren Problemen.