The cost of living and medical care prices.

Abstract

In the past year, the index of the prices of all items in the consumers' budget has risen almost twice as many points as the price of medical care. The Consumers' Price Index rose 13.7 points in 1951, and the index of medical care and drugs rose 7.1 points. In 1951, the Consumers' Price Index reached an all-time high of 185.6 while the index of the prices of medical care and drugs stood at 155.0. While the Consumers' Price Index has been considerably higher than the index of medical care prices in recent years, the spread between the two indexes became even more pronounced during 1951. The Consumers' Price Index had risen 86% since the base period, while the cost of medical care rose only 55%. In terms of purchasing power of the consumer dollar, medical care was 16% cheaper in 1951 than in 1935-1939, that is, 155.0 is 84%