The medical care Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in August after a 0.2 percent increase in July, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The CPI is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households. The medical care CPI includes both medical care commodities and medical care services.
Prices for medical care commodities increased 0.5 percent from July to August 2009, while prices for medical care services increased 0.2 percent. Medical professional service prices increased 0.1 percent, while prices for hospital and related services increased 0.5 percent.
Seasonally unadjusted medical care consumer prices in August 2009 were 3.3 percent higher than in August 2008. Medical care commodities were 3.7 percent higher than a year ago, and medical care services were 3.2 percent higher.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI for all urban consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent in August. The index has decreased by 1.5 percent over the last 12 months on a not seasonally adjusted basis.