The latest high-cost claims and injectable drug trends report from Sun Life indicates there was a 354% increase in the number of COVID-19 claims from 2020 to 2021, a rise in total spend from $30.4 million to $114 million, but an 18% decrease in average cost for treatment. Other findings from the report include 2021's list of 10 most costly claim conditions and the fact that 21% of employers had at least one plan member with more than $1 million in claims from 2017 to 2020.

Sommer Sherrod, a vice president with the Insurance Office of America, and Insurance Consultants of Central Florida broker Michael Espinosa are technically competitors but have discovered they can work together to better serve clients in a rapidly changing benefit environment. "Balancing the bottom line with employee needs has been a challenging endeavor as of late," Sherrod said of the current climate.

Licensed clinical social workers Chelsea Haverly and Emily Young formed a trauma-informed weightlifting certification program to help personal trainers bring mental health benefits to clients, as strength training is increasingly seen as a tool to support mental health. Separately, licensed clinical social worker Mariah Rooney founded the Trauma Informed Weight Lifting nonprofit, which provides coaches, trainers and therapists with information on healing that can be found in weightlifting.

Lab-confirmed cases of the monkeypox virus have climbed 77% since June 27 to surpass 6,000, and the World Health Organization will hold a second meeting to discuss whether the outbreak constitutes a global health emergency sometime in the next two weeks. "I continue to be concerned by the scale and spread of the virus across the world," says WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noting it is likely many cases are unreported because of a lack of testing.

The Mediterranean diet may help reduce the risk of frailty as people age, according to a study of 2,300 adults published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Foods containing carotenoids appeared to have the strongest association with a decreased chance of frailty for adults in middle age and older, and researcher Shivani Sahniwith noted that greater intake of "brightly colored fruits and vegetables that are rich in carotenoids as well as other bioactive compounds may ultimately affect the health of older adults."

Patients with type 2 diabetes who were overweight or had obesity who took probiotic supplementation for 90 days experienced significant reductions in fasting glycemia, improvements in intestinal microbiota profiles and an increase in high-density lipoprotein plasma level. The findings published in the journal Clinical Nutrition ESPEN highlight the potential of probiotics as an adjuvant therapy for managing blood glucose in people with T2D.

The USDA is expanding the number of retailers that offer recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program online grocery shopping capabilities through a $5 million competitive grant, which is accepting applications through September 6. The SNAP EBT Modernization Technical Assistance Center grant will provide support to retailers to enable SNAP e-commerce with a focus on smaller, independent grocery stores to give SNAP recipients more choice, help rural communities and support cultural food preferences.

Schools in New York City are partnering with community organizations and volunteers to expand students' access to food by stocking on-campus community refrigerators with plant-based food options. The goal is to help curb childhood hunger while offering alternatives to processed foods.

Does your health insurance provider organization have timely news about a breakthrough that's guiding greater health for more Americans? Tell your story during one of AHIP's conferences. Proposals may be submitted throughout the year but be sure to check the deadlines for each conference. Learn more.

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In nearly 30 U.S. states, at least half the state population receives health care through an employer, according to a recent article from AHIP's Coverage@Work campaign. In Utah, for example, more than 60% of the population is enrolled in employer-provided coverage, and in Nevada, nearly half the workforce has access to dental insurance through their employer.