In this report, researchers from PwC’s Health Research Institute predict that spending on health care in 2015 will reach $2.9 trillion but the growth in spending will be lower in 2016 than it was in 2015, but it will still outpace overall economic inflation. Despite the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, affordable health care remains out of reach for many consumers. The researchers identified three factors that are expected to reduce the rate of growth in health care spending in 2016 and two factors that may increase spending in 2016. The first of the three factors that will reduce spending are the “Cadillac tax,” an excise tax on employers’ high-cost benefit plans that is set to go into effect in 2018 unless congress acts to eliminate the tax or slow the implementation data. This tax may cause employers to change their benefit design to avoid paying a 40 percent tax on health plan premiums over $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for family coverage. The other two factors are virtual care such as remote monitoring and telehealth and new health advisers who help employees of large companies to use the health care system more efficiently. The two factors that could increase spending in 2016 are the high price of specialty medications and large-scale security breaches of health insurers and health care providers.
