That could mean that employers for the moment are seeing little reason to shift more costs onto their workers, Strunk says. Rises in spending on prescription drugs also slowed in 2004, though they still went up 7.2% for workers with private health insurance. A greater reliance on drug formularies that limit drug choices and greater use of generic drugs are driving the slowdown, the report concludes. SOURCES: Tracking Healthcare Costs: Declining Growth Trend Pauses in 2004, Health Affairs , June 21, 2005. Bradley C. Strunk, health researcher, Center for Studying Health System Change. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.            © 2005 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.    |   |   |  ©1996-2005 Inc. All rights reserved.

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