Asia Pacific highlights from the 2026 Global Medical Trends Survey
Gross medical trend
|
2024 |
2025 (expected) |
2026 (projected) |
| Asia Pacific |
11.8 |
13.2 |
14 |
| Global |
9.5 |
10 |
10.3 |
Gross medical trend in 2026 (projected)
- Singapore: 16.9
- Taiwan: 16.7
- Philippines: 16.1
- Malaysia: 15.7
- Indonesia: 15.1
- New Zealand: 14.9
- Regional average (14%)
- South Korea: 13.5
- India: 12.9
- Vietnam: 12.3
- China: 11.1
- Thailand: 10.8
- Hong Kong: 9.9
- Australia: 8.3
57% of insurers in Asia Pacific expect high medical trends to extend over the next three years.
What is driving costs?
- New medical technologies: 77%
- Advancements in pharmaceuticals: 63%
- Little or no cost sharing: 51%
- Fraud, waste and abuse: 51%
- Supply chain disruptions, trade policies: 28%
- New technology remains the top cost driver globally and in Asia Pacific
- Fraud, waste and abuse has climbed into the top three in China, India and Hong Kong
- Disruptions to supply chains and trade policies, and limited cost sharing practices are having a growing impact in Asia Pacific
Tariffs and trade policies are expected to impact healthcare costs
- Decrease: 3%
- No impact: 13%
- Increase: 69%
- Significant increase: 15%
Note: “Not sure” responses excluded
Major negative impacts
Rising costs: Tariffs increase the cost of imported drugs, devices, and supplies, driving up overall healthcare expenses
Strategic and predictive challenges: Uncertainty around tariffs complicates cost forecasting and demands better predictive analytics
Cost sharing has the lowest prevalence in Asia Pacific
|
Global |
Asia Pacific |
| Deductible (including per claim or per service or per year) |
39% |
16% |
| Annual limit of out-of-pocket expenses |
30% |
24% |
| Member coinsurance (fixed percentage of services) |
28% |
18% |
| Member copays (flat fee) |
27% |
6% |
| Premium cost sharing by insured members for group policies |
23% |
6% |
While insurers in Asia Pacific see cost sharing as one of the most effective methods to manage costs, most cost sharing designs used globally have limited use in Asia Pacific.
Cancer remains the top condition by incidence in Asia Pacific
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular
- Diabetes
- Musculoskeletal
- Respiratory
- Gastrointestinal
- Behavioural health
Breast, colorectal and lung cancer have shown the most growth in incidence over the past 18 months
- Breast: 81%
- Colorectal: 49%
- Lung: 45%
- Prostate: 30%
- Thyroid: 27%
- Skin: 15%
82% have reported an increase in the incidence of cancer in those under 40 over the past year
81% have seen a rise in breast cancer in Asia Pacific and globally, the fastest rising in all regions
- Prevention and screening are the two most effective factors for early detection and to reduce medical costs
- Care navigation and case management are also reported as an effective way to reduce costs in many markets, but the current take-up in Asia Pacific is low
Use of GLP-1s is expected to increase across the region
GLP-1 receptor agonists, originally approved as a medication for diabetes, are now being used more widely in the United States to treat obesity.
- 53% say use of GLP-1s to treat obesity will increase in Asia Pacific, especially where use is currently low
- 59% of policies currently exclude GLP-1s for obesity, with coverage varying across markets
- 66% of insurers believe GLP-1s will increase medical costs
Did you know? Insurers are concerned about the cost impact, although initial studies show that GLP-1s may reduce total healthcare costs over time by:
- Lowering hospitalisation rates and diabetes complications
- Reducing cardiovascular events and need for insulin escalation
- Improving weight and comorbidity control
Use of Al in healthcare programs is expected to triple in Asia Pacific
Number of insurers taking significant actions to incorporate Al capabilities into healthcare programs and activities
|
|
|
|
| Now |
|
17% → 37%
(Global) |
In the next two years |
8% → 24%
(Asia Pacific) |
|
Note: Percentages indicate "to a very great extent" or “to a large extent".
Current use of Al in Asia Pacific is focused on communication, and plan administration and operations, with some markets such as Hong Kong and India also using it heavily in wellbeing programs.
Al is expected to reduce future healthcare cost trends in Asia Pacific
|
Past 2 years |
Next 2 years |
Next 5-10 years |
| Significant decrease |
14% |
32% |
57% |
Next steps for employers
- Spotlight cancer awareness and prevention: provide screenings and preventive services to employees and drive educational campaigns
- Consider employee cost share: introduce co-pay or co-insurance design to incentivise more thoughtful medical spending and discourage excessive claiming
- Invest in education and prevention: empower employees to use healthcare benefits wisely, offer targeted guidance, and emphasise the importance of preventive care
- Prioritise mental health: ensure mental health coverage is available through insured and non-insured programs, expand digital mental health platforms, and optimise employee support services
- Introduce flexibility where possible: enable employees to utilise the benefits they need
Sources for GLP-1s research:
