News in brief - Jan. 2, 2012

Medical inflation on par with overall price growth

From November 2010 to November 2011, the cost of medical care grew 3.4%, the same inflation rate as the economy as a whole, according to the monthly report on the consumer price index issued Dec. 16, 2011, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm).

Much of the growth was driven by increases in the price of hospital-related services during the past year. These grew 5.5%, while the cost of professional services, a category that includes physicians, went up by 2.1%.

The escalation of medical pricing for November 2011, however, was faster than the rest of the economy. There was no inflation in the economy as a whole for November 2011, primarily because declines in the cost of energy were offset by growth in food, shelter and apparel expenses. Medical care prices went up 0.4% in November 2011, with hospital services going up 0.7%. Professional services grew by 0.2%.

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Aetna buys maker of iTriage app

One of the most popular mobile health apps now belongs to Aetna. The Hartford, Conn.-based health plan bought iTriage, a Denver-based company that is behind an app of the same name.

iTriage is available for Android-enabled devices and iPhones. The app allows users to check symptoms, find physicians and hospitals and, in some cases, preregister at a clinic or emergency department.

Mark Bertolini, chief executive, president and chair of Aetna, mentioned the acquisition at the insurer's investor conference on Dec. 15, 2011, but did not disclose terms of the deal. He said iTriage was the fastest-growing and most-downloaded health care app on iTunes, with more than 3 million downloads. Bertolini said Aetna would help develop a next-generation version of the app that would help members of Aetna's accountable care organizations locate hospitals and physicians inside the ACO.

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