Medical costs in Dallas-Fort Worth fell by .3 percent in December and January , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
That price drop is in contrast to the .4 percent rise in the DFW Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Local medical prices rose 3.2 percent over the last 12 months, which exceeded the 2.1 percent rise in the local CPI for that period.
The BLS includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall and Tarrant counties in the metropolitan statistical area.
Nationally, hospital prices rose.7 percent in December and .2 percent in January. Inpatient hospital prices increased.4 percent while outpatient hospital consumer prices dropped.1 percent. U.S. hospital consumer prices increased 4.7 percent for the 12 months ending in January, compared with 5.8 percent for the prior year.
U.S. physician-services prices edged up .1 percent in January and were flat in December. For the 12 months ending in January, the physician-service prices were up 2.2 percent, compared with 2.4 percent for the prior year.
Steve Jacob is editor of D Healthcare Daily and author of the new book Health Care in 2020: Where Uncertain Reform, Bad Habits, Too Few Doctors and Skyrocketing Costs Are Taking Us. He can be reached at [email protected].
