What enters a river upstream almost always flows downstream. It’s important to think of your health insurance premium this way. Your premiums lie downstream and reflect the prices charged by hospitals, physicians, drug companies and the cost of technology and administration upstream in the system.
The more that this expensive system is used, the more pressure there is on health insurance costs downstream.
The fact is — the use of our expensive health care system is surging. An increasingly unhealthy and aging population is putting intense pressure on it. The rate of chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and obesity has increased exponentially, leading to more hospitalizations, specialist visits and long-term pharmaceutical and medical treatments. These surging demands are putting immense pressure on health insurance affordability.
The Impact on Health Care Affordability
Higher Utilization Drives Higher Insurance Costs. People using more and more services in the system means higher overall medical spending — costs that eventually flow into their health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.
More Complex Care = More Expensive Care. Managing multiple chronic conditions often calls for frequent specialist visits, rising use of new prescription drugs and long-term treatments.
More Care in High-Cost Settings. Many people — especially those with unmanaged chronic conditions — end up in the emergency room or admitted to hospitals for preventable issues, driving up system-wide costs.