---
title: "Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI)"
slug: healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi
summary: "Medical care inflation ran 2.2 percentage points below overall inflation in the 12 months to September 2026"
category: "Prices"
unit: percentage_points
frequency: monthly
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: -2.2137
latest_period: "2026-09"
trend: falling
last_updated: "2026-10-14T00:00:00Z"
source: "Computed (Medical Care CPI - CPI All Items YoY)"
measurement_basis: "Percentage-point difference between year-over-year changes in the seasonally adjusted Medical Care CPI (CUSR0000SAM) and seasonally adjusted all-items CPI-U (CPIAUCSL); seasonally adjusted values may be revised"
source_url: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAM
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI).\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI).\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/."
---

# Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI)

> Medical care inflation ran 2.2 percentage points below overall inflation in the 12 months to September 2026

## Current Reading

As of September 2026, Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI) is **-2.2 percentage points** (falling — improving for households).

medical care CPI inflation minus overall CPI inflation, 12 months to September 2026

## What Changed

- Medical care inflation ran 2.2 percentage points below overall inflation in the 12 months to September 2026, a gap down from 0.3 percentage points in September 2025.
- A month earlier, in August 2026, the gap was higher, at -1.8 percentage points.
- The lowest reading since December 2023.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-09 | -2.21 pp |
| 2026-08 | -1.79 pp |
| 2026-07 | -1.6 pp |
| 2026-06 | -1.44 pp |
| 2026-05 | -1.57 pp |
| 2026-04 | -1.24 pp |
| 2026-03 | -0.23 pp |
| 2026-02 | 0.93 pp |
| 2026-01 | 0.8 pp |
| 2025-12 | 0.5 pp |
| 2025-11 | 0.2 pp |
| 2025-09 | 0.27 pp |

## Historical Context

- Peak since 2001: **5.2 percentage points** in July 2009
- Low since 2001: **-5.7 percentage points** in March 2022
- Pre-pandemic average (2015-01 – 2019-12): **1.2 percentage points**
- Post-pandemic average (2020-01 – 2024-12): **-1.7 percentage points**

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: Computed (Medical Care CPI - CPI All Items YoY).
Measurement basis: Percentage-point difference between year-over-year changes in the seasonally adjusted Medical Care CPI (CUSR0000SAM) and seasonally adjusted all-items CPI-U (CPIAUCSL); seasonally adjusted values may be revised
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

Computed (Medical Care CPI - CPI All Items YoY) — [https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAM](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAM)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-14T00:00:00Z

## Related Indicators

- [cpi-inflation-rate-all-items](https://americandefault.org/indicators/cpi-inflation-rate-all-items/)
- [medical-care-cpi](https://americandefault.org/indicators/medical-care-cpi/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI)." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Healthcare Inflation Premium (Medical CPI minus Overall CPI)." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/healthcare-inflation-premium-medical-cpi-minus-overall-cpi/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.