Orthopedic and musculoskeletal conditions have surged on SunLife’s list of high-cost medical claims for 2025, according to the independent stop-loss provider’s 13th annual high-cost claims and injectable-drug trend analysis.
The provider also said million-dollar stop-loss claims are on the rise overall, increasing by 29% this year, when looking at claims-per-million-covered employees, and are up 61% over the past four years.
The report examined more than 65,000 health claims from 3,000 employers between 2021 and 2024, according to a June 4 news release.
While cancer tops the list as the most frequent and costly condition, generating $1.2 billion in spending across approximately 5,000 claims in 2024, orthopedics placed third on the list behind cardiovascular claims.
This is the first time orthopedic and musculoskeletal conditions have placed in the top three slots on Sun Life’s annual list, showing a growing frequency of these conditions.
Orthopedics accounted for around $476.3 million in reimbursement claims between 2021 and 2024, and $158.9 million in claims in 2024 alone.
