Drugs continue to lead health care price growth

Prescription drug prices were 4.8% higher in June than a year ago, by far the highest growth rate for any health care category, according to the latest Economic Indicators from Altarum Institute's Center for Sustainable Health Spending. Prices for physician and clinical services were 1.2% lower than a year ago, reflecting the end of the Affordable Care Act’s higher payments to primary care doctors under Medicaid, while hospital price growth stayed “at the low rate of 0.7%,” the center said. Health spending growth continued to moderate, falling to 5.7% year-over-year. Hospitals added 15,700 jobs in July, “a level of growth seen only a few times in the past 25 years,” the center said.