Drug Price Growth Rate Rises to 6.2 Percent, Compared to 2.4 Percent in December 2015

Health care prices in December 2016 rose 2.1 percent over the same time the year before, according to an economic analysis from the Altarum Institute. The rate equaled the increase seen in November 2016, and matched the 2.1 percent growth seen in the Consumer Price Index at the end of last year.

Meanwhile, initial estimates showed that national health spending grew by 5.4 percent in 2016, totaling $3.44 trillion for December’s adjusted annual rate. Prescription drug spending made up 10 percent, or $348 billion.