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Employee Benefits Megan Henderson Employee Benefits Megan Henderson

Inflation’s Impact on 2024 Open Enrollment

Many employees continue to feel financially strained because of inflation. With open enrollment fast approaching, inflation could impact the choices employees make when it comes to their benefits. Specifically, employees are likely to consider which benefits matter the most and how to optimize the money they spend on those offerings.

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Employee Benefits, Personal Lines Megan Henderson Employee Benefits, Personal Lines Megan Henderson

Health Care Costs Projected to Grow 7% in 2024

Health care costs are expected to grow 7% in 2024 due to rising pharmaceutical expenses driven by specialty drugs and insurers increasing rates in response to inflation, according to an annual report from professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). This trend is higher than 2022’s and 2023’s projected medical cost rates, which were 5.5% and 6%, respectively.

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Personal Lines Megan Henderson Personal Lines Megan Henderson

May Inflation Drops to 4% Year-over-Year Increase, Signaling Inflation May Be Cooling

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 4% year over year in May, a significant decline from 4.9% in April. This is the lowest annual pace since 2021 and slightly below economists’ expectations of a 4.1% increase, according to Refinitiv, global provider of financial market data and infrastructure. The latest reading marked inflation’s deceleration for the 11th consecutive month, an encouraging sign for Americans and the Federal Reserve (Fed).

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Personal Lines Megan Henderson Personal Lines Megan Henderson

Inflation Trends Ease to a 7.7% Year-over-Year Increase in October 2022

Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the consumer price index (CPI) eased to a 7.7% year-over-year increase in October 2022. This is down from an 8.2% increase in September. In addition, the CPI for all urban consumers rose by 0.4% from the same period last year, matching the increase in the previous two months.

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Employee Benefits Megan Henderson Employee Benefits Megan Henderson

PBM Satisfaction Among Health Plans Drops to Three-year Low

In 2022, customer satisfaction with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) reached a three-year low, according to a recent report from the Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG). This year’s PBM customer satisfaction score was 7.8 out of 10, compared with 8.2 in 2021 and 8 in 2020. Analysts believe this drop may be linked to rising drug prices and negative public sentiment since the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Employee Benefits Megan Henderson Employee Benefits Megan Henderson

Inflation’s Impact on 2023 Open Enrollment

Many employees are currently feeling financially strained because of inflation. With open enrollment fast approaching, inflation could impact the choices employees make when it comes to their benefits. Employees are likely considering which benefits matter the most and how to optimize the money they spend on those offerings. As a result, this year’s open enrollment may be more challenging than usual for employers and benefits providers.

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Risk Management Megan Henderson Risk Management Megan Henderson

How Small Businesses Can Prepare for a Recession

A recession is a prolonged and pervasive reduction in economic activity. Generally speaking, multiple successive quarters of negative growth in gross domestic product—a monetary calculation of the market value of goods and services generated and sold during a set time period within a given country—constitute a recession. A recession can last for several months or years. Furthermore, recovering from this state to the nation’s previous economic peak can take years, even after a recession ends.

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Employee Benefits Megan Henderson Employee Benefits Megan Henderson

5 Strategies for Tackling Rising Health Care Costs in 2023

Most employers are concerned about their health care costs rising in 2023. According to Willis Towers Watson’s (WTW) 2022 Emerging Trends in Health Care Survey, 94% of employers reported managing health care benefits costs will be their top priority over the next two years. Employers will likely avoid shifting costs to employees because of the state of the labor market.

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Personal Lines Megan Henderson Personal Lines Megan Henderson

2023 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment Will See Highest Increase in 40 Years

On Oct. 13, 2022, the U.S. Social Security Administration announced that Social Security beneficiaries can expect an 8.7% increase in benefits next year. This increase surpasses the 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2022, which, at the time, was the highest in four decades. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month for beneficiaries beginning in January.

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Personal Lines Megan Henderson Personal Lines Megan Henderson

How to Recession-proof Your Life

Many Americans and economists think rising inflation, interest rates and housing costs may be warning signs of a looming recession. Unfortunately, if a recession does occur, more than two-thirds of Americans don’t feel prepared for it, according to a MagnifyMoney survey.

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Employee Benefits, Personal Lines Megan Henderson Employee Benefits, Personal Lines Megan Henderson

Inflation Increases 8.3% Year Over Year in August, Trends Slightly Down From July

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) increased 8.3% year over year in August 2022, remaining uncomfortably rapid for the month. The CPI didn’t ease as much as expected by economists, putting continued inflation-related financial pressure on consumers.

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Employee Benefits, Personal Lines Megan Henderson Employee Benefits, Personal Lines Megan Henderson

Inflation Eases to 8.5% Year Over Year in July, Remains Near 40-year High

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 8.5% year over year in July 2022, a slightly slower pace from last month’s record 9.1% reading. The latest CPI number indicates that inflation pressures are somewhat easing, but it remains near record-high levels since the early 1980s.

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