SCHAUMBURG, Ill.–With national healthcare spending expected to rise by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years, there needs to be a greater emphasis on finding ways to reduce healthcare cost trends. According to the findings from two recent surveys by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), actuaries and consumers both believe that more transparency within the U.S. healthcare system is the key to bending the cost curve downward: Actuaries believe there needs to be more transparency between doctors and patients, while consumers feel they could make more informed decisions if they had more information on medical procedures and options for care.
"The focus on transparency is essential for the future of the U.S. healthcare system, as pricing, effectiveness of procedures and quality of provider care are needed to help the medical community be more transparent in the ways in which to deliver care to patients," says Susan Pantely, FSA, MAAA, and consulting actuary for Milliman, Inc. "From an actuarial perspective, we're looking at the short- and long-term challenges, and offering real-world solutions to help contain healthcare spending."
The survey of actuaries, which was taken by more than 600 members of the SOA's Health Section, reveals that creating more transparency between doctors and patients, and the provider community and patients, will be at least somewhat effective at bending the cost curve downward. For example, 86 percent of the surveyed healthcare actuaries recommend making prices for treatments more visible and available for patients. Additional findings include:
- Seventy-nine percent recommend educating consumers and providers on the efficacy of care.
- Eighty percent recommend making quality of provider care more visible and available for patients.
According to Pantely, "While there will be challenges in the healthcare system, one thing we know for sure is that in addition to increasing access to care, as a nation, it is important we also focus on ways to reduce costs while improving quality."
