Hospital prices fell 0.5% in January

Overall hospital prices declined 0.5% in January, and were 0.1% less than a year ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this week. Prices for the subgroup of general medical and surgical hospitals declined 0.6%, and were 0.1% less than in January 2014, according to the BLS' Producer Price Indices (PPI), which measure average changes in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output. The PPI for hospitals measure changes in actual or expected reimbursements received for services across the full range of payer types. This includes the negotiated contract rate from the payer plus any portion expected to be paid by the patient.

Source: AHA News