business
Medical inflation stabilizes
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 29, 2011
Overall inflation grew by 0.5% in July after a dip of 0.2% in June and growth of only 0.2% in May, while increases in the cost of medical care held steady, according to the monthly consumer price index report released Aug. 18 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The cost of medical care grew 0.2% in May, June and July. Expenses related to professional health services, a category that includes the work of physicians, grew by 0.2% in June and July but not at all in May.
Hospital costs, the component of medical inflation that has tended to grow the fastest, slowed during the past few months. Growth in the cost of hospital services increased 0.4% in July but 0.5% in June and 0.7% in May.
Inflation in the economy as a whole for the past year was 3.6%, much of it driven by growth in the cost of gasoline and food. Medical care costs grew by 3.2% during the last 12 months, although professional services increased by only 2.2%. The annual inflation rate for hospital charges, despite the recent dip, was 6.2%.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/08/29/bibf0829.htm.
