Hospital prices hold steady rate of increase: PPI

Wholesale prices for acute-care hospital services rose 0.3% in November, matching the increase in each of the previous three months, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Producer Price Index. Hospital prices were up 4.2% over the 12-month period ended in November. The PPI measures changes in net revenue per episode of care. Wholesale prices for physician services, meanwhile, dropped 0.1% in November and were up 1.3% for the 12-month period. -- by David Burda