Question

In recent years, health insurance provision by employers has grown globally and is rapidly becoming the most valued employee benefit, particularly in developing markets. In many countries, benefits provided under public health programs are being scaled back, both in terms of coverage and the share of costs covered. As a result, employer-sponsored health plans have grown exponentially in the past decade, says Towers Watson, a consulting firm.

Question:

Globally what is the average medical cost trend expected to be in the emerging economies than in advanced economies?

Answer 1

The global healthcare expenditure is increasing in emerging economies. It slightly declined in 2017 that increased by 5.5%, which was 6.2% in 2016. However, it witnessed an uprising trend after it where the cost increase by 5.7%, and 5.75%, in the years 2018, and 2019 respectively. Moreover, it is expected to increase by 6.0% in 2020. However, medical expenditure in an advanced economy is comparatively lower than the emerging economies in terms of percentage. The medical cost in an advanced economy is 3.36% in the year 2016, followed by 3.49%, 3.65%, and 3.82% in the years 2017,2018, and 2019 respectively. The expected increase in the medical coat in the year 2020 is 4.03%.
The comparative analysis has made it clear that the average healthcare cost is higher in emerging economies than in the advanced economies.