RT Journal
T1 ARe medical care prices excessive?
JF Journal of the American Medical Association
JO Journal of the American Medical Association
YR 1949
FD February 26
VO 139
IS 9
SP 587
OP 587
DO 10.1001/jama.1949.02900260033010
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1949.02900260033010
AB Elsewhere in this issue is a comparison of the final 1948 Consumers' Price Index with the preliminary index of medical care prices of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The entire cost of living index was 171.2 for 1948; the Bureau of Medical Economic Research of the American Medical Association estimates that the index of medical care prices, a small part of this cost of living index, will be only 141 for 1948. The base period 1935-1939 equals 100. This spread of 30 points compares with a spread of 27.6 points in 1947—159.2 and 131.6.Again it appears certain that the prices charged by the physicians, dentists and hospitals for rooms have not risen as fast as the cost of living. These figures were developed by an agency of the federal government. These data clearly show that the cost of living in 1948 was much higher than the level