Hospital CPI continues to climb

Prices for hospital services climbed 0.1% in December 2006, slightly down from the 0.2% rise in November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index. For the 12 months ended in December 2006, the hospital CPI was up 6.2%. The physician CPI rose 0.4% in December for the second consecutive month. For the 12-month period, the physician CPI rose 1.6%. In general, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for all urban consumers increased 0.5% in December, the first advance since August. The CPI is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. -- by Cinda Becker