Altarum: Health sector spending moderates; jobs surge in 2015, led by hospital hiring

Health care spending growth continued to moderate in July, falling to 5.6% year-over-year, according to the latest Economic Indicators from Altarum Institute's Center for Sustainable Health Spending. Prescription drug prices rose 4.4%, continuing to far outpace any other health care category. Prices for physician and clinical services were 1.1% lower than a year ago, while hospital prices rose by a “still low” 0.9%, the center said. Hospitals have added more than 105,000 jobs since January, a sevenfold increase over the same period last year. The health sector overall added 314,000 jobs, nearly twice the number added during the same period in 2014. “It is no accident that the health care share of total jobs has reached a new high at the same time that the share of the population without health insurance is at a new low,” said Charles Roehrig, director of the center.