Future medical costs are typically projected in a life care plan prepared by a CLCP, then reduced to present value by a forensic economist. Methodology combines treating-team recommendations, peer-reviewed duration literature, and geographically matched cost data.
Certified Life Care Planners (CLCPs) prepare the itemized plan. A forensic economist then reduces the plan to present value using appropriate discount and growth rates.
Core inputs include treating team recommendations, peer-reviewed duration literature, local provider cost quotations, and published rate data (Medicare, usual-and-customary compilations) (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, n.d.).
Categories include routine and specialty medical care, diagnostic testing, therapies, medications, durable medical equipment with replacement intervals, home modifications, transportation, and attendant care.
The plan's annual costs are reduced to present value using a discount rate matched to the projection horizon and a growth rate reflecting medical cost inflation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). Methodology is documented with sensitivity analysis.
Projections extend across the claimant's expected life expectancy, drawing on published life tables (Arias et al., 2025) and any adjustments supported by the record.
Deduction depends on the jurisdiction's collateral source rule. Some jurisdictions require offset; others do not.