Healthcare sector litigation costs increase
A report by ACE Group says that healthcare businesses are at an increasing risk of higher litigation costs. The insurer has released a white paper examining the risk of antitrust lawsuits with regulation and government enforcement growing. The report says that health care businesses must ensure stricter due diligence when involved in mergers and acquisitions and must recognise that during these transactions antitrust issues can arise. Keith Lavigne, Executive Vice President, ACE Professional Risk says: “Failure to do so could expose them to significant risk.”
Telecoms giant launches ‘ethical hacking’ service
BT, the UK-based telecoms giant, has launched a new service which it says will reduce the risk of ‘connected’ cars being hacked. With an increasing number of new cars being shipped with Wi-Fi and mobile connectivity the firm says that there is a real danger that drivers could be targeted even while they are on the road. The new service called Assure Ethical Hacking for Vehicles will work with auto manufacturers to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks being launched on drivers. Using its team of cyber experts and ‘ethical hackers’ the service will aim to expose vulnerabilities in vehicle’s connectivity.
US pharmacy costs set to rise by double digits in the next year
Health insurers will be facing a balancing act in the coming months as pharmacy costs in the US are set to rise sharply. Aon reports that costs for active employees and post-65 retirees are expected to drift into the low double-digits by 2016 and continue into 2017. Tim Nimmer, AON’s global chief actuary commented: "Over the past few years, employers have implemented a number of strategies to lower medical costs, including cost sharing through higher copays or high-deductible plans, implementing high performance networks, promoting consumerism and optimizing vendor partners. Reduced consumer spending on discretionary items like health care has also contributed to the lower rate of premium increases we have seen. As the economy continues to improve, we expect to see these rates to steadily climb."
