The Producer Price Index for acute-care hospitals increased 0.3% in February after an increase of 0.1% the prior month, new federal data show.
The broad measure of inflation, one of two tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, monitors the change in hospital reimbursement. For the year that ended in February, the Producer Price Index for acute-care hospitals increased 1.1% compared with 3.1% the prior year.
For physician offices, the index captured a decrease in prices of 0.1% for February after an increase of 0.3% in January. A slowdown in physician office prices that appears to have started in late 2012 continues. For the year that ended in February, physician office prices increased 0.1% compared with 0.4% the prior year and 1.5% the two years ago.
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