The Thomson Reuters Healthcare Spending Index for Private Insurance showed that costs to people covered under employer-sponsored health insurance rose at a rate of 5.8 percent last year, which was down from 6.6 percent in 2009.
The index, which tracks healthcare spending components such as hospital care, physician services, and prescription drugs, showed that hospital costs experienced the steepest climb in 2010, growing at a 7.9 percent annual rate. Physician costs reflected a 4.9 percent hike and drug costs increased 1 percent.
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"Costs continue to increase, but the slower rate of healthcare inflation is notable in a year when overall inflation grew at a rate of 2.7 percent," said Gary Pickens, chief research officer at the Thomson Reuters Center for Healthcare Analytics. "As we investigate the individual drivers of healthcare cost increases, it becomes clear that there's an opportunity for employers to intervene with programs designed to address unhealthy behaviors."
To gain a better understanding of the relationship between unhealthy behaviors and treatment costs, Thomson Reuters also tracks healthcare costs to employers segmented by illness. It found that services associated with diagnoses likely to be influenced by behavioral risk factors - such as obesity, lack of physical activity, tobacco use, alcohol use, and poor nutrition - account for 24 percent of annual spending for hospital and physician services.
The index estimates are based on the Thomson Reuters MarketScan databases, a repository of healthcare claims for inpatient and outpatient services. The index represents the real-world treatment patterns and costs of more than 12 million employees and their dependents. The index tracks healthcare costs for individuals whose coverage is provided by self-insured employers - a segment that represents about 25 percent of U.S. healthcare expenditures.