PwC: Health care spending growth expected to slow in 2016

The rise in health care costs is expected to slow in 2016 to 6.5%, but growth will continue to outpace overall inflation, according to a new report from PwC’s Health Research Institute. The researchers, who conducted interviews with experts and health plan actuaries and analyzed data from PwC’s 2015 Health and Well-being Touchstone survey of more than 1,100 employers and a national consumer survey of more than 1,000 adults, attribute the projected decline in spending growth to benefit design changes and cost-shifting ahead of the 2018 implementation of the “Cadillac tax” on high-value health plans, increased use of virtual care and new health advisers. However, they note new high-cost specialty drugs and investments in cybersecurity protections for personal health data will increase spending in other areas.