Significant Health Trends for 2023

April 17, 2023

Health has been at the heart of the most pressing crises in the last few years. A worldwide pandemic, growing mental health concerns, and the typical yearly problems with flu, strep, and other viruses have conspired to keep Americans out of the workplace and strained the capacity of hospitals. Healthcare insurance has never been more necessary, yet rising costs of healthcare paired with the economy’s volatility have made healthcare insurance solutions more challenging and less accessible to the average American.

2023 presents new challenges and trends related to health issues, such as these.

Efforts to Keep Medication and Healthcare Insurance Affordable

Prescription medications make up a third of businesses’ healthcare costs. About 90% of all prescriptions are generic, but specialty drugs push prices through the roof. Less than 2% of the population uses name-brand, specialty medicines, yet the cost averages $38,000 annually per patient and makes up over half of the nation’s overall spending on prescription drugs.

Biologics, in particular, are costly. Derived from living organism components, including tissues, cells, blood, and recombinant proteins, a single dose of this medication can run up to $50,000, with treatment for a single patient potentially costing healthcare insurance in the hundreds of thousands each year.

Topping the list of 2023 healthcare trends to be aware of are biosimilars, products that are clinically equivalent to the more expensive biologics. These are expected to provide more affordable treatment for Crohn's disease, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis. This is just one of numerous healthcare insurance solutions efforts geared toward reducing the costs of prescription drugs in 2023. 

Focus on Employee Well-Being

The importance of mental health and its ramifications on overall employee wellness has received more attention over the last few years. This will continue in 2023 as companies build comprehensive wellness strategies and offer healthcare insurance solutions to help encourage vitality and good health in all areas of employees’ lives. Research supports the idea that employees with high vitality levels are more productive, motivated, and connected to their employers. 

Growing Emphasis on Virtual Health

The virtual healthcare visits that took off in popularity due to necessity during the pandemic are here to stay. Availability, access, and comfort level with telehealth services have grown in the last few years. In 2016, only 12% of doctors used remote monitoring devices with their patients. Today, the number exceeds 30% and continues to grow. Virtual health care is covered by most healthcare insurance and provides organizations with improved employee health, increased productivity, higher employee engagement, and lower overall costs of care.

Strategic Attempts to Fix the Healthcare System

The healthcare system in America is fragmented, with patients often seeing several providers who may need access to the complete patient profile that should influence medical decisions. Efforts to bridge these connections will become more of a priority for tech companies and for streamlined benefits packages that reduce healthcare insurance costs and system complexity while optimizing the level of care. ◼