This growth surpasses the 6.05 percent annual growth rate experienced during the 12 months ending Dec. 2010.
For the year ending Jan. 2011, healthcare costs covered by commercial insurance rose by 8.03 percent, and Medicare claim costs for hospital and professional services rose at a slower rate of 3.40 percent.
The increases are a departure from the deceleration in annual growth rates experienced during the second-half of 2010. “In the past year we began to see a trend of deceleration in annual growth rates for the nine indices in this family, especially in the second half of 2010. The first month of the New Year shows a departure from this trend; but it is too soon to predict if this is an anomaly or a sign of what 2011 has in store for us,” said the report.
Read the S&P report on annual growth of healthcare costs (pdf).
Read more coverage on healthcare costs:
– S&P Indices Show Moderate Increases in 2010 Healthcare Costs
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