Upstream Pressure

Medical Care CPI

Year-over-year change in medical care costs

What is the current Medical Care CPI?

HEALTHCARE COST INFLATION
3.71% ↑ Worsening
year-over-year increase in medical care costs

The medical care Consumer Price Index rose 3.71% year-over-year in the latest reading, outpacing overall CPI inflation. Healthcare costs are a significant driver of household financial distress — medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy filings and a key contributor to savings depletion. Source: BLS (CUSR0000SAM).

Medical Care CPI rising to 3.4%

Tracking worsening relative to recent baseline.

Source: BLS via official source ↗

Explore Further

How has Medical Care CPI changed over time?

CSV Chart Card
Medical Care CPI over time
Medical care CPI, year-over-year percentage change
Medical Care CPI
Historical data
Monthly · BLS
Period Value YoY Change
Feb 2026 3.71% +0.8 pts
Jan 2026 3.42% +0.8 pts
Dec 2025 3.27% +0.4 pts
Nov 2025 3.17% +0.1 pts
Sep 2025 3.29% +0.0 pts
Aug 2025 3.48% +0.5 pts
Jul 2025 3.52% +0.3 pts
Jun 2025 2.75% −0.5 pts
May 2025 2.46% −0.6 pts
Apr 2025 2.72% +0.1 pts
Mar 2025 2.65% +0.4 pts
Feb 2025 2.89% +1.5 pts

Frequently Asked Questions

How fast are healthcare costs rising?

Medical care CPI rose 3.71% year-over-year, outpacing the 2.66% all-items CPI rate.

Why does healthcare inflation matter for financial distress?

Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. When healthcare costs rise faster than wages, more households face impossible choices between medical care and other obligations.

Where does medical care CPI data come from?

Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, series CUSR0000SAM.

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Why does Medical Care CPI matter?

Medical Care CPI is one of 91 indicators in the American Distress Index's upstream pressure layer — the signal that predicted the 2008 crisis two years before delinquency data confirmed it.
View methodology →
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