Medical costs are poised to continue their relatively flat growth in 2019, but researchers say the steady trend is unsustainable for consumers. The expected 6 percent growth in 2019 aligns with the 5.5 percent to 7 percent trend over the past five years — a welcome change from the double-digit spikes in the 2000s — but higher costs haven't translated to similar gains in consumers' health and productivity, said PricewaterhouseCoopers researchers who studied employer-sponsored healthcare spending. Expensive new medical services and drugs and market consolidation are driving higher costs, said Barbara Gniewek, a health services principal at PwC. "It looks like costs are stabilizing, but they are still going up at a rate above inflation," she said. "They are still increasing at an uncontrolled level and are ultimately unsustainable." (Modern Healthcare by Alex Kacik)
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