Almost all countries in the Middle East will see medical plan costs increase next year at a rate lower than the global average, with Jordan the lowest of all, according to statistics from Aon’s 2024 Global Medical Trend Rates Report.
The country in the region with the highest rate of increase for 2024 will be Egypt at a rate of 29%, compared to a global average of 10.1%.
Saudi Arabia, with a rate of 14%, will also see its medical plan costs increase at a rate higher than the global average.
Some of that cost will be driven by diabetes, which Aon says “has been gradually gaining global relevance as a top condition driving medical claims around the world”.
Diabetes is expected to be the top reported condition for 2024 in Saudi Arabia, Aon said.
All other countries in the Middle East will have medical plan cost increases lower than the global average.
The country with the lowest rate of increase for 2024 will be Jordan at 5%.
Bahrain will have the next lowest rate at 8.0% followed by Qatar with a rate of 8.5%.
Other countries include Israel and the UAE with a rate of 10%, making them the joint third highest in the Middle East, though still just below the world average.
But with the renewed conflict in and around Israel and a death toll that continues to rise, it is possible that its rate of increase will increase, especially if there is an escalation in hostilities.
Meanwhile, Kuwait, with a rate of 9.5%, is followed by Oman at 9.0%
Several other Middle Eastern countries, such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen were not included in the report. Iran is also not on the list. Lebanon is, but Aon did not report its rates due to the prevailing hyperinflation environment.
Meanwhile, over in the Asia Pacific region, Hong Kong will see a much lower rate of increase than many of its neighbours.
Rates in the region range between Kazakhstan at 30% and Japan at 0.4%. But they are at the extremes.
The countries with the second highest rate are Malaysia and Mongolia both at 15%.
The country with the next lowest rate is Australia at 4.2% followed by Papua New Guinea at 4.9% and Vietnam at 6.7%.
Hong Kong will see a rate of 7.5% compared to Singapore with a rate of 13%. It also has lower rates than the Philippines (14%), Indonesia (13.1%), South Korea and Taiwan (both 10%) and Thailand (9.1%)
Hong Kong will also have a lower rate of increase than China, which is expected to see its costs increase by 7.9%.
Tim Dwyer, CEO of health solutions for Asia Pacific at Aon, said: “Health and wellbeing costs have become an important concern for companies as year-over-year medical plan costs continue to rise.
“These rising rates often bring unexpected or unbudgeted cost increases and make affordability for employers and employees more difficult.
“While macroeconomic instability is a big part of the story behind the medical trend rates, it is also important for businesses to understand the regional differences, the conditions driving the trend rate, and the ways in which these increases can be mitigated to better navigate volatility and make more informed decisions.”
Alan Oates, head of advisory and specialty of health solutions for Asia Pacific at Aon, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic introduced a period of volatility in health care costs across Asia Pacific that we had not seen for a very long time with claims utilisation returning to pre-pandemic levels during 2023 after a deep decline.
“The problem is that return in utilisation has come with higher cost products and services creating a twofold effect.” said
“At the country level, companies looking to mitigate these increased costs are using a familiar set of strategies with wellbeing initiatives being the leading mitigation strategy.
“These strategies tend to modify costs over an extended period and current economic pressures mean we are seeing more clients than at any time in the past 10 years achieve cost containment through more direct plan design changes and network management.
“This is a time to be innovative when considering plan design solutions that deliver flexibility to support modern family needs within the cost constraints of the organisation.
“More money than ever is being invested in wellbeing initiatives and our work with clients has shifted since the pandemic to using more data to better identify population health risks and align financial and wellbeing incentives to build a more resilient workforce.”