Determine one (1) key driver of health care cost escalation.

One key driver of health care cost escalation is the increasing complexity and specialty of treatments. As new technologies and treatments are developed, they become more expensive to use – often times requiring specialized equipment or personnel that increase overall costs.

Additionally, as patients live longer due to advances in medical care, their need for ongoing treatment increases resulting in an increased demand for resources which can also cause healthcare costs to rise.

Finally, pharmaceutical companies continuously develop new drugs which have higher prices than older medications; this combined with the fact that many insurers require pre-authorizations before these medications can be prescribed leads to yet another source of cost escalation within the healthcare industry.