Cost trends slowing down in 2012

The overall cost of providing healthcare coverage is projected to increase less than 10 percent for the first time in more than a decade, according to a new study by Buck Consultants. The company queried more than 120 different insurers and third-party administrators and projected a 9.9 percent increase for 2012, down more than a full percentage point from 2011, reported the Sacramento Business Journal. Officials say the decrease is a result of patients undergoing fewer elective medical services and other cost-cutting measures by patients and their employers. Article