In this edition:

• 🔺 Report predicts healthcare costs will rise 8% next year

• 💊 Pharmacists sue UnitedHealthcare

• 👶 Infant mortality rises for first time in 20 years

• 🕑 Orgs recover from world wide computer outage

• And more!

Report predicts 8% rise in healthcare costs next year

Commercial healthcare costs will increase by a projected 8% in 2025, driven by inflationary pressure, prescription drug spending and behavioral health utilization, according to a report from the PwC Health Research Institute.

The report estimates the projected increase in per capita costs of medical services and prescription medications that affect payers' group and individual plans.

Health insurers use the projection to calculate health plan premiums for the coming year. 

View the report here

Pharmacists bring suit against UnitedHealthcare for cyber attack

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and dozens of providers have filed a class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group (UHG) for losses from the Change Healthcare cyberattack that happened earlier this year.

The plaintiffs argued that Change Healthcare, which was acquired by UHG in 2022, didn’t take adequate precautions against the attack and caused major financial losses for providers.

Infant mortality rises for first time in 20 years

The infant mortality rate in the United States rose in 2022, the first jump in 20 years, according to data released Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 20,500 babies died in 2022 before the age of 1, final records show. Overall, there were 5.6 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births, a 3% increase from the year before.

Infant mortality in the US has been generally trending down since at least 1995, when consistent tracking started, but rates are still much higher in the US than they are in many peer nations.

There have been some small upticks over that time, but 2022 was the first time there was a statistically significant increase since 2002, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Experts say that any increase is cause for concern.