Clarity on Cost Trends, Month By Month

Milliman Healthcare Trend Guidelines give insurers, healthcare providers, and employers monthly information on healthcare expenditures and utilization for individuals enrolled in commercial insurance plans in the United States. The Guidelines are updated with 12-month trailing data each month, serving as a vital tool and benchmark for negotiations for plan renewals, the setting of trend guarantees, forecasting, premium rate development, and a myriad of other applications.

The Most Comprehensive Data Set On the Market

The Healthcare Trend Guidelines are a series of indices providing data on the cost, utilization, and unit costs of healthcare services—both in total and broken down separately for professional services, inpatient and outpatient services, and brand and generic prescription pharmaceuticals. The Guidelines were formerly known as the S&P Healthcare Claims Indices. Milliman collaborated with S&P on the Indices since their inception. More recently Milliman has purchased and taken over the Indices effective January 1, 2019.

The information used to calculate the indices is provided by leading health insurance plans and data firms, covering approximately 60 million insured covered individuals in the United States, representing about 40% of the total commercially enrolled private fee-for-service (FFS) market. The data is provided by a variety of organizations, representing 33 contributing plans and all 50 states.

The Healthcare Trend Guidelines are the main source for subscribers to get an independent, data-driven read on the pulse of what’s happening with healthcare in the United States. While some companies publish periodic surveys, which yield anecdotal accounts, they don’t have the statistical validity of the Healthcare Trend Guidelines. Surveys amount to an aggregation of opinions. The Healthcare Trend Guidelines incorporate real data points—rooted in facts—leading to a more accurate overall picture of the trajectory of the U.S. healthcare system. The numbers are what they say they are, with enough of a sample size to be truly representative of the market.

Caveats

In performing this analysis, we relied on data and other information provided by contributors to the Milliman Health Trend Guidelines. We have not audited or verified this data and other information. If the underlying data or information is inaccurate or incomplete, the results of our analysis may likewise be inaccurate or incomplete. In that event, the results of our analysis may not be suitable for the intended purpose.

Differences between our projections and actual amounts depend on the extent to which future experience conforms to the assumptions made in this analysis. It is certain that actual experience will not conform exactly to the assumptions used in this analysis. Actual amounts will differ from projected amounts to the extent that actual experience deviates from expected experience.

Milliman's work may not be provided to third parties without Milliman's prior written consent. Milliman does not intend to benefit any third party recipient of its work product, even if Milliman consents to the release of its work product to such third party.