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Cancer still tops high-cost health claims but muscle and orthopedic conditions are making surprise surge: Sun Life report
Sun Life, the nation's leading independent stop-loss provider for self-funded employers, today released its 13th annual high-cost claim and injectable drugs trend analysis, examining more than 65,000 health claims from 3,000 employers between 2021 and 2024. Overall, million-dollar stop-loss claims are on the rise, increasing by 29% this year when looking at claims-per-million-covered employees, and are up 61% over the past four years.
About this update from Sun Life Financial Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"13th-annual high-cost claims analysis highlights soaring healthcare expenses with cancer, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal leading the way","length":140,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"WELLESLEY, Mass., June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life, the nation's leading independent stop-loss provider for self-funded employers, today released its 13th annual high-cost claim and injectable drugs trend analysis, examining more than 65,000 health claims from 3,000 employers between 2021 and 2024. Overall, million-dollar stop-loss claims are on the rise, increasing by 29% this year when looking at claims-per-million-covered employees, and are up 61% over the past four years.","length":489,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"The top 20 costliest claim conditions","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"The top 20 costliest claim conditions","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":389,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/386f45210c7df858222a69cd7b886e61"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/p8pi73ILSKtnVfNbgvCAzA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTY4NjtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/386f45210c7df858222a69cd7b886e61","width":400,"height":389}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2701458/Top_20_HC_claim_conditions_Infographic.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":""Sun Life's annual high-cost claims report illustrates the escalating nature of healthcare costs and the growing financial burden on employers and the healthcare system," said Jen Collier, president of Health and Risk Solutions, Sun Life U.S. "By analyzing our clinical data annually, we are able to create solutions with targeted interventions and personalized care navigation that can have a significant impact on both health outcomes and cost containment."","length":483,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Cancer Leads as Top Cost Driver","length":31,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Cancer once again tops the list as the most frequent and costly condition, with malignant neoplasms (solid tumors) generating $1.2 billion in spending across approximately 5,000 claims in 2024—triple the cost of the second-leading condition, cardiovascular. While blood cancers (Leukemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myelo...