Omair Sharif, founder and president of Inflation Insights told Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast that health insurance data released in the coming months could have an impact on the consumer price index.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that produces the consumer price index, measures costs of health insurance by looking at the retained earnings, or profit margins, of health insurance companies.
These statistics are only released once a year, typically around September or October, by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Mr. Sharif said.
When the NAIC releases this data, it should reflect lower profit margins, as use of healthcare services increased in 2021 over 2020, Bloomberg reported. This data could help slow down the consumer price index’s rise.
Across all sectors of the economy, prices rose 8.3 percent from August 2021 to August 2022.
Read the full report here.
