A poll says more Americans are checking prices before authorizing health care. And no wonder: A new study says those prices are going up. A consultancy advises on how to prosper in the "new normal."
A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report estimates that the cost of healthcare services is expected to rise 7.5 percent in 2013.
PwC calls this "flat growth," "another year of historically low growth" and (chillingly) "a 'new normal.'" But Reuters notes that's more than three times what economic indicators such as inflation suggest the rise will be.
PwC identifies four cost-containing forces: Lower supply and equipment costs, due to administrator negotiations and insurer pressure; rising popularity of alternative care delivery systems, such as minute clinics; government-mandated price transparency; and the increasing use of generic drugs.
On the other hand, prices are goosed by two forces, says PwC: an "uptick in utilization" as people who eschewed treatment in the recession start to return to the market; and new med-tech, such as robotic surgery, leading to higher-ticket procedures.
Your takeaway, per PwC: "Doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies will need to retool their business models to succeed in the new environment."
PwC says providers
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will be "increasingly accountable for the cost and quality of healthcare they provide," so you should conscientiously review all your spending and pricing for cost/benefit;
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should get with the "overall agenda of accountable care" and partner effectively with other medical practices, whether by information exchange or acquisition;
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must initiate "a culture of collaboration" with patients to reduce hospital readmissions via "proactively scheduling follow-up appointments" and other innovations; and
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should use "predictive modeling [to] help identify patients at higher risk for readmission."
Be aware, too, that this cost jump is coming as (an NPR-Thompson Reuters poll discovers) health care consumers are becoming more price-conscious. In 2010, 11% of them told pollsters they were getting an estimate before agreeing to treatment; this year 16% of them say they do so.