Ill-flation
Constant office colds, ceaseless sniffling sounds, and steering clear of flu-ridden friends: it’s around that time of year when seemingly everyone you know is getting sick.
Although the negative health implications of feeling under the weather are clear, being ill this winter could now set you back a lot more in financial terms too. Indeed, according to the Consumer Price Index report from the Labor Department released yesterday, prices for hospital and related services were up 6.3% year-over-year in November — the biggest annual jump in almost 13 years.
Similarly, the cost of medication also saw the steepest rise since October 2016, with prescription and non-prescription drug prices up 5% compared to the same point last year.
In sickness and in wealth
Even before the latest surges, the US had some of the highest healthcare costs in the world: in 2021, healthcare spending averaged ~$13k per person, and around 50% of adults reported finding it difficult to afford their healthcare in a recent survey. Indeed, in the run-up to the election, America’s enormous medical debt is likely to be a key issue in debates, as federal actuaries project healthcare expenses to rise another $3 trillion in the next 8 years.
However, despite staff shortages that have afflicted the medical sector in the past few years, it was reported ~40% of overall job growth this month was made up by healthcare workers; with any luck, a recovering economy, and some TLC, hopefully this labor shift can nurse inflated prices in 2024.
