Get ready for one major impact of inflation that won’t hit until next year

Aneesh Krishna, an analyst and partner at global management consulting firm McKinsey, told MarketWatch, “If you signed up for a health insurance plan when you signed up last year, those rates will be used by all inflation data. It was set before it was possible.

Analysts told MarketWatch they expect those rates to change.The cost of medical services increased 6.5% in September from last year. This is below the overall inflation rate of 8.2%, but still marks the highest annual increase since 1993, according to government data released this month.

Hospital services and nursing home costs rose 4% in September, while physician services costs rose 1.8% year-on-year. Inpatient and outpatient hospital services increased by 3.9% and 3.4% respectively compared to last year.

Voluntary enrollment refers to the hours when people can enroll in health insurance or adjust their current plans. This can be done through your employer, Medicare, or the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

When the 2022 Medicare open enrollment period began in October 2021, U.S. inflation was 6.2% year-over-year. Last year’s consumer price index he reached 8.2%.

Health insurance premiums also rose 28.2% year-on-year in September and 2.1% month-on-month, according to consumer price index data. However, prices for various categories of health care have not changed much, as consumers pay only a fraction of the increase in these services through copayments.

But higher healthcare prices are likely to be the card next year, said Kayla Brune, an economic analyst at global decision-information firm Morning Consult. “Consumers have no choice but to pay or walk away,” she said.

In fact, insurers are already calling for a spike in premiums for 2023. Early premium filings for the 2023 Affordable Care Act marketplace plans have seen insurers seek a proposed median 10% increase, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of filings in 13 states and Washington, D.C. indicates that there is

The hospital system is also under pressure. According to ShiftMed’s annual report released last month, more than half of nurses say they are suffering from severe shortages in their workplaces, with 99% reporting some kind of shortage.

As contract renewals increase, hospitals are likely to want to pass on costs, Krishna said, but employers and health insurers probably won’t be able to afford those costs. , he added, has an opportunity to meet higher cost challenges by improving productivity.

Still, Krishna said the impact could be more subtle than a simple price hike, and higher costs mean employers may cut health benefits. “They started thinking about how they could cut benefits,” he said, when health insurance costs were 4% to 5% higher than last year.

Another side effect of healthcare inflation: As healthcare prices rise, consumers are more likely to withhold treatment, experts say.

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