Milliman, Inc., the firm that offers actuarial services, launched the Milliman Medical Index (MMI) of 2022, which measures the costs of medical care for individuals and families who receive coverage from an employer-sponsored provider, Preferred Provider Plan (PPO).
“After years of trending in a steadily upward direction, health care costs deviated from the norm in 2020 and 2021,” said Dave Liner, co-author of the MMI. “After first decreasing by 2020 and then increasing by 13% without precedents in 2021, health care trends this year have stabilized at 4.6%“.
“Most years, health care costs health care costs are rising faster than any other cost affecting families,” said Mike Gaal, another co-author of the MMI. “In 2022, for the first time in the 17 years of history of our study, the trend of medical care is less than the general inflation rate”.
According to MMI, in 2021, health care costs for a hypothetical family of four reached $30,260 dollars, while the costs for an average person reached $6,859.
Although these are averages, the MMI allows for greater specificity thanks to an interactive tool that allows people to calculate the costs for themselves or their own family. To use the interactive tool, go here.
“The MMI is unique in its ability to assess current year costs and trends, because it is reconciled with the most comprehensive data set available as experience becomes available,” he commented. Doug Norris, co-author of the MMI. “In the spring of 2020, we correctly recognized the rapidly declining utilization of health care services. As time went on, we better understood the volatility at play as the pandemic took hold, and then again as utilization and costs increased by 2021. “
One of the peculiarities of the MMI is that it calculates the contributions of the employer and the employee to the costs of medical care , including out-of-pocket expenses incurred at the point of care.
“As health care costs rise this year, employees and employers are taking a fair share of the increase,” he said Paul Houchens, co-author of the MMI. “Employee costs are up 4.7% and employer costs are up 5.3%.”
“It’s been a wild ride these past few years, but in 2021 the MMI eventually exceeds $30,000 for a hypothetical American family,” said Annie Mann, co-author of the MMI. “Only ten years ago the MMI exceeded $20,”.
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