The nation's employers can expect medical costs to increase by 9 percent in 2011, a decrease of 0.5 percent from the 2010 growth rate, according to the annual Behind the Numbers report published by the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) Health Research Institute. For the first time, the majority of the American workforce is expected to have a health insurance deductible of $400 or more, as more employers return to "indemnity style" cost-sharing by raising out-of-pocket limits, replacing co-pays with co-insurance and adding high-deductible health plans.
