'To avoid medical inflation, avoid going to the US,' writes James Featherstone. Photograph: Corbis
The average annual increase in international health insurance (IHI) premiums over the past few years has been between 5% and 15%. Although accurate global figures are difficult to work out, most industry insiders believe that last year’s policy hikes averaged nearly 10%. This year the figure is likely to be closer to 12%, according to one broker.
This is expensive stuff. IHI policies can be hundreds of dollars a year for an individual and thousands for a family that has relocated abroad. The insurance providers cite what they say are three unavoidable reasons for the rising cost of healthcare: medical inflation, customers’ higher expectations, and the fact that regions that were previously off the expatriate map are becoming popular destinations.
The cost of medical treatment tends to rise faster than the official inflation rate because new medical interventions and expensive innovative technology push the cost of medical care up. And all the costs are passed to the policy holder. Researchers at Missouri State University calculated that annual medical inflation in the US has been running between 12% and 20% for the past five years, with prescription drugs likely to increase in cost from 20% to 30% a year over the next decade.
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