Climbing Costs: U.S. companies aren’t the only ones confronting skyrocketing
health care costs, according to a recent poll by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. In
fact, in the majority of countries around the world, medical costs are outpacing
the general rate of inflation, the study says.
Seventy-one percent of insurance companies around the world expect higher or
significantly higher medical cost trends over the next five years, according to
the Watson Wyatt survey. Eighty-one percent of respondents said that medical
costs are eclipsing the general rate of inflation in their countries.
The survey is based on responses from 85 companies that provide medical
insurance to employers in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. With the
exception of insurance companies in Hong Kong and Singapore, most of these firms
are expecting double-digit increases in employer medical costs in 2008,
according to the poll. In Europe, however, most insurers reported that they
expect single-digit increases this year, with the exception of Italy. However,
all European respondents said they expect those numbers to rise over the next
five years.
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