Jan. 22 — Hospital prices decreased by 0.2 percent in December 2012, compared with prices from the previous month, according to preliminary data produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index (PPI). In comparison, hospital prices increased by the same amount in November 2012, and by 2.2 percent from December 2011 to 2012. The PPI measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. 

General medical and surgical hospitals, a subsection of the overall hospital pricing data, also showed a price decrease of 0.2 percent in December, compared with an uptick in November 2012 pricing of 0.1 percent. 

Industries in the PPI hospitals subsector are defined as providing medical, diagnostic, and treatment services that include physician, nursing, and other health services to inpatients and the specialized accommodation services required by inpatients.

Publication Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2013