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Tracking Health Care Costs:
An Update
July/August 1997
Health Affairs, vol.16, no.4 (July/August 1997): 151-155
Paul B. Ginsburg, Jeremy D. Pickreign
his article challenges contemporary predictions of an imminent
increase in the rate of increase in health care costs. Premium increases for private
health insurance continue to decline, and the rate does not vary greatly by type of health
plan. The low increase for conventional plans is puzzling, due possibly to spillover
effects from managed care and other factors. Insurers profit margins are dropping, a
reflection perhaps of intense competition. Lower rates of premium increases have had
limited benefits for employees because they have been required to contribute a greater
share of the premiums, especially for conventional plans.
Free access to this article is available at the Health
Affairs Web site.
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