Asia Pacific expects high medical inflation in 2025

Asia Pacific is projected to have the highest medical inflation globally in 2025

Gross medical trend

Gross medical trend in 2025 (projected)

• Indonesia: 19.4%*
• Philippines: 18.3%*
• Malaysia: 16.4%*
• New Zealand: 16.0%
• Thailand: 14.2%
• India: 13.2*
• Singapore: 12.0%
• South Korea: 11.9%
• Vietnam: 11.2%
• Australia: 11.1%
• Taiwan: 11.0%
• China: 10.8%
• Hong Kong: 9.8%

* Countries with higher percentages than Asia Pacific average

Just over three-quarters of insurers in Asia Pacific anticipate higher or significantly higher medical trend over the next three years — the highest among all regions.

What’s driving the cost increase?

External factors

• Higher costs due to new medical technologies: 73% (Continues to be top driving factor)
• Decline in quality or funding of public health systems: 40%
• Plan design with little or no cost-sharing: 39% (Highest among all regions)
• Higher costs due to advancements in pharmaceuticals (i.e., GLP-1s): 26%
• Too few providers available: 24%

Insured members/provider behaviour

• Overuse or misuse of care due to medical practitioners recommending too many services: 79%
• Insured members’ poor health habits: 55%
• Overuse or misuse of care due to lack of integration between primary, specialty and facility care: 51%

Cancer is the fastest growing condition in Asia Pacific

Mental health doesn’t appear on the Asia Pacific list, the only region where this is not a top condition by incidence in the last 18 months.

Incidences of breast, colorectal and lung cancer are growing faster in Asia Pacific compared to global.

Changes insurers made in 2024

• 64% of Asia Pacific insurers said that they intend to add wellbeing services to their health programs — the highest of all regions
• North America’s insurers are leading the way in adding DEI features, or fertility/family planning services whereas only 15% to 17% of Asia Pacific insurers are adding these features

When it comes to fertility and family planning, Asia Pacific insurers show similar support to their global peers — but North America is leading the way in supporting medicine, men’s health, IVF and egg freezing.

Asia Pacific is still behind when it comes to DEI related exclusions

Gender re-affirming care (surgery/sex change, hormonal therapy, mental care)

Other mental and behavioural health including but not limited to autism, ADHD, etc.)

Mental and behavioural health (e.g., anxiety, depression)

Treatments related to menopause

Same-sex legal spouse or domestic partner

Mammograms

There has been a slight improvement since 2024, but Asia Pacific is still behind, especially in mental health, providing benefits for same-sex partners and mammograms.

Next steps for employers

• Promote preventive care: Facilitate and encourage opportunities for screenings, early detection measures, vaccines and educational sessions/campaigns to help prevent and detect health conditions earlier, while they are easier and less expensive to treat.
• Ensure benefits are fit for purpose: Review programs to verify that benefits offered fit your population’s needs, to identify opportunities to eliminate unnecessary or underutilized coverage, assess the appropriateness of your network coverage and effectiveness of providers, and optimise benefit spend.
• Evaluate vendor solutions: Consider programs that target certain chronic conditions (e.g., cancer and cardiovascular) and provide support services and behavioural intervention aimed to improve long-term prognoses.

About the survey: WTW conducted its 2025 Global Medical Trends Survey between June and August 2024. A total of 348 leading health insurers representing 75 countries participated in the survey, which fielded between June and August 2024. In addition to submissions from insurers, we received input from WTW local brokers representing 55 countries. The combined data covers 90 countries.