Defined contribution and alternative care meet personalized medicine.

Among the many healthcare trends that bear watching, coverage, reimbursement, and evolving medical technologies are at the top of the list. Some employers are moving away from a defined benefit model, e.g., benefits provided by an employer’s health plan, and toward a defined contribution model, e.g., employees receive a fixed amount of money to buy medical coverage from an online insurance marketplace (Mathews 2012). Uncertainty about reimbursement policies among various provider entities, hospitals, and healthcare systems has set off a number of market shifts. These trends require that consumers become more engaged in decisions about using and paying for healthcare services. Advances in medical technology in the pharmaceutical, device, and diagnostic fields are increasing financial pressures on healthcare service entities. More patients are seeking costlier treatments even as reimbursements decline. Personalized treatments, in particular, are affecting cost sensitivity and utilization volume — for example, both Express Scripts and CVS Caremark have noted that by 2015, of the top 10 medications in terms of utilization, nearly two thirds will be biologic or specialty products bearing some aspect of personalized medicine. Clearly, reimbursement for personalized therapies will be an important trend to follow in the context of healthcare reform. And if that’s not enough to pique your interest, then consider the rapidly growing alternative healthcare services market.