Timely observation from Forbes

Consumer prices are rising at the fastest pace in 30 years, as the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain bottlenecks and staffing shortages reverberate around the globe. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows inflation rose 6.2% in October, with energy, cars and beef leading the way with increases of more than 20%.

However, some healthcare services seemed to buck the trend. Health insurance prices were down 6.4%. But it’s important to note that the index doesn’t directly price insurance policies — it tracks the movement of insurance premium holding the quality of the plan as constant (which isn’t how things tend to play out in the real world, especially with the rise of high deductible plans). The index shows eyeglasses and eyecare services saw only a 0.4% bump, while dental services were up 2.2%. Hospital and doctor services were up around 4%.

Until this year, healthcare prices have outpaced general inflation for more than a decade, explains healthcare analyst and Forbes contributor Joshua Cohen. “This is partly a function of the consumer price index being historically low during this period; often under 2%, in fact!” While it appears there may be a reversal, it won’t be official for many more months, as the confirmed data lags behind by several quarters, says Cohen. Plus, there are some holes. For example, the index doesn’t take into account the launch prices of new drugs, it only takes into account “increases of prices of existing products.” Stay tuned as to whether the decline in prices is an anomaly or a trend…

The observation is timely because at this time of year the federal employee press typically is complaining the FEHB premiums are increasing faster than the cost of living. That’s not the case for 2022.

From the Delta variant front, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that

To support access to [rapid at home COVID testing], HHS will use [$650 million of American Rescue Plan] funds to ramp up U.S. domestic manufacturing capacity. By strengthening our ability to produce these tests in the United States, we will minimize our reliance on imports from overseas, and sustain robust long-term manufacturing throughout 2022. The funding will also support purchasing raw materials and finished tests to increase our domestic supply of diagnostic tests.

This initiative builds on recent efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to strengthen testing and make tests more available nationwide. President Biden recently announced $3 billion in new investments in rapid testing. These resources will grow the supply of rapid tests, including quadrupling the supply of at-home tests by the end of the year. HHS also recently announced a series of actions to help reduce costs, make tests more available, and support bringing more over-the-counter tests to market in the U.S.

Fierce Healthcare reports

Express Scripts is launching a new option for employers to cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests under the pharmacy benefit.

Beginning Jan. 1, members who can access the benefit can visit an in-network pharmacy to purchase an applicable COVID-19 test. Members can then show their Express Scripts member card at checkout, which will process the purchase through their benefit.

Plans can set the copayment for the test at either a discounted rate or a $0 copay, Express Scripts said.

From the COVID vaccine mandate department —

Federal News Network reports

The largest federal employee union has asked the White House to push back the Nov. 22 deadline that executive branch workers currently have to comply with the federal vaccine mandate.

The American Federation of Government Employees said Tuesday federal workers should have the same Jan. 4 deadline that the Biden administration recently extended for contractors to receive their vaccine doses.

In a letter to the White House, Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, the union urged the Biden administration to harmonize federal vaccine mandate deadlines for government employees and contractors.

From the surveys department —

• Health Affairs tells us about the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2021 benchmark survey on employer sponsored healthcare in the U.S.

• Healthcare Dive reports on the latest Leapfrog hospital patient safety grades. “Among 2,901 facilities scored by the Leapfrog Group, 32% received A grades this fall. Another 26% of hospitals received B grades while 35% scored a C. * * * Only 7% of hospitals received D grades, and less than 1% received an F.” The grades were in line with pre-pandemic scoring.

The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans reminds us that November is Men’s Health Awareness Month.

You’re probably already familiar with No-Shave November and Movember, movements created to encourage conversations about cancer awareness among men. These events encourage participants to put down their trimmers for 30 days and think about donating their monthly hair-maintenance expenses to the cause. Many cancer patients lose their hair during diagnosis and treatment, and one way to show empathy and support is to grow awareness while growing mustaches, beards and full heads of hair. For more ideas on getting your organization involved, click here.

From the healthcare business front, Health Payer Intelligence and Healthcare Dive each provide wrap up reports on 3rd quarter financial reporting from health insurers.

What’s more, Fierce Healthcare tells us that

Health IT industry veteran Donald Rucker, M.D. is joining the leadership team at interoperability startup 1upHealth.

Rucker, who served as the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under the Trump administration, is jumping on board 1upHealth as its new chief strategy officer. The Boston-based company, founded in 2017, structures claims and clinical data to make it easier for organizations to share information.

As CSO, Rucker will help set the direction for 1upHealth’s ongoing innovations in Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-enabled computing and help healthcare organizations meet the evolving clinical, technical and reimbursement demands for modern data, according to the company.

From the encouraging research front, the National Institutes of Health informs us that

• Sixty hours of a therapy called [Constraint induced movement therapy] CIMT led to significant improvements in hand and arm function among children with cerebral palsy in a randomized trial.
• The findings suggest that intense treatment with CIMT has greater benefit than conventional forms of therapy.

From the Open Season advice department, Federal News Network alerts us that next Monday ‘November 15, 2021 on ForYourBenefit, our hosts Bob Leins, CPA®, and Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Director NITP, will talk about Open Season.” Here’s a link to the show’s website which discloses that the show has been covering Open Season for the past three weeks. Check it out.