While hospital prices crept up just one tenth of a point last month, they are currently 2.4 percent higher than they were in April 2008, according to a new report by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Prices at general medical and surgical hospitals crept up 0.1 percent, but were 2.5 percent higher than in April 2008, according to the agency's Producer Price Indices. By the way, to be clear, this increase translates into actual or expected reimbursement for a sample collection of treatments or services, not just "sticker prices."
The Producer Price Index for hospitals measures changes in actual or expected reimbursement for services across all payer types and agreements, including negotiated contract rates with the payer and amounts for which the patient is responsible.
To learn more about this:
- read this Healthcare Finance News piece
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