With the remarkable medical breakthroughs of the past 50 years, we in the US now have the best healthcare delivery system the world has ever known. Ironically, this very progress has created ever greater expectations on the part of the well-informed health care consumer.

The forces driving change in the healthcare delivery systems have never been greater. Costs are increasing at an unsustainable rate. This is reflected with health insurance premiums going up at double digit rates, co-payments increasing and deductibles escalating all simultaneously. With increasing costs, limited budgets, and ever expanding expectations, there is a perfect storm in the making where radical change is inevitable. We are close to a tipping point.

As with most economic change in America, the trends point to a more consumer centric model. The rapid growth of Health Savings Accounts combined with higher deductible and menu driven health insurance plans also validate a more customized approach where the consumer has more say in how their health funds are spent.

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