Hospital, doctor prices rise in March

Prices for inpatient hospital care accelerated slightly more rapidly last month than prices for outpatient services, as the overall Consumer Price Index for hospitals increased 0.8%.

Last month's uptick in hospital prices was marginally higher than the 0.6% increase in February, newly released figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show. The index, which measures the change in prices for commercial insurers, increased 0.5% in March 2013. For the year that ended last month, the price index for inpatient hospital care increased 5.1% compared with 5.6% the prior year.

Inpatient hospital service prices increased 0.9% last month; outpatient prices climbed 0.6%.

The Consumer Price Index for physician services inched up by 0.2% after decreasing each of the prior two months by 0.1% and 0.2% in February and January, respectively. Last month's gain was identical to the 0.2% price growth for March 2013. For the year that ended last month, physician service prices increased 1.4% compared with 2.6% the prior year. All figures are seasonally adjusted.

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