Medical costs to rise by 6.5% in 2022, report predicts

By Katie Adams for Becker’s Hospital Review

The cost of treating patients will rise 6.5 percent above 2021 next year, according to a recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute.

Fifteen percent of Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance said they deferred medical care between March and September 2020, according to the PwC survey. The report predicts more Americans will seek routine care and elective surgeries in 2022, which could drive up medical costs.

The report estimates that other pandemic trends, such as patients living with long COVID-19 and the exacerbated opioid and mental health crises, will increase costs. It also predicted some pandemic-era habits, such as not exercising, poor nutrition and substance use, could raise costs as well.