Medical costs for employers and their workers are expected to increase 9 percent in 2010, slightly slower than in previous years, according to a report released this week by the PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute.

The institute’s survey of more than 500 employers and health plans states that the slower rate of growth will be due mostly to the economic recession; ongoing trends that continue to deflate spending growth, including the expansion of wellness and disease management programs and the increased availability of generic drugs; and the prospect of health care reform.

The recession has contributed to increasing costs as well: hospitals have to compensate for significant losses in investment income; cost-shifting to private payers from the uninsured, Medicare and Medicaid has increased; and insured workers who are expecting to be laid off are using more services while they still have health care coverage.