Eight Eye-Opening Healthcare and Benefit Stats

From the Conference Board’s annual Employee Health Care Conference as reported by Jason Lavender. 

Among the trends impacting health care:

1. City of Hope noted the average cost of new cancer therapy is $171,000 and spend for specialty drugs used in cancer treatment is expected to increase by 20% every year. Given rapidly changing cancer research, the gap between best practices and treatment delivered is widening in cancer while it’s shrinking in other specialties. Up to 28% of cancer cases are misdiagnosed or classified at the wrong stage. Rethinking the approach and having a specific strategy for cancer care is a must.
2. There are 86 million pre-diabetic adults in the U.S. and 90% don’t even know it. Employers have long been using biometrics and “know your numbers” campaigns to improve awareness, but the number and variety of diabetes prevention programs entering the market continues to grow, giving employers several options.
3. More than two-thirds of adults with depression don’t get treatment. That’s unacceptable. Anxiety and depression continue to be top risks in the U.S. workforce. Improving access, reducing stigmas and digitizing cognitive behavioral therapy are all top of mind for employers.
4. Specialty prescription costs are expected to double in three years. In other words by 2020 it’s estimated that on average, 7 of the top 10 drugs ranked by spend in an employer-sponsored pharmacy benefit will be specialty drugs. Employers are winning the “generic vs. brand” battle; now it’s on to managing the specialty pipeline.
5. According to Rock Health, 345 digital health startups raised more than $2 million in capital in 2017. That’s almost $6 billion in digital health funding. Sorting through the myriad of startups to find those that innovate with purpose for employers is key. At the startup panel, the entrepreneurs’ enthusiasm and desire to change the world for the better was palpable.

Trends impacting the changing workforce:

1. Today, 33% of the U.S. workforce are freelancers and that will grow to 43% by 2020. The way in which employers are attracting and competing for talent is evolving, especially when so many hires will be gig employees. Designing benefits and engaging gig employees in health care programs will need to change as well.
2. Nearly two-in-three (65%) of children entering school today will have jobs that do not exist today. Worried about what career your child will have? Don’t fret! It’s likely you’ve never heard of their future career anyway. As jobs change, the opportunities will grow.
3. More than three-in-four (77%) employers are considering changes to their Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) policies and benefits plans. The findings are based on a survey we conducted at both events in which we asked employers, “to what extent do you envision your company making changes to policies and benefits over the next three years to broadly support Inclusion and Diversity goals?” Among the responses, 30% said to a great extent, and 47% said to a good extent. The enthusiasm and attention to I&D is tremendous to see.