This past September, healthcare prices were only 1 percent higher compared with September 2012 and fractionally above the August 2013 rate of 1 percent, which was the lowest year-over-year growth recorded since January 1990, according to a report from the Altarum Institute’s Center for Sustainable Health Spending.
The 12-month moving average of the healthcare price growth rate hit a new low at 1.4 percent. Hospital prices showed a 1.5 percent year-over-year growth rate in September, on par with the August rate, which was the lowest recorded since December 1998, according to the report.
Healthcare spending grew 4 percent in September 2013 compared with September 2012, increasing to a seasonally adjusted rate of $2.94 trillion, a slight increase from $2.93 trillion in August 2013. Hospital spending was $934 billion and represented 32 percent of total health spending in September.
More Articles on Healthcare Spending and Prices:
The Frail Anatomy of the U.S. Healthcare System
Are Hospitals Pricing Themselves Out of Existence?
Will Medicare Price Cuts Lead to Fewer Hospital Beds?
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