The S&P Healthcare Economic Composite Index indicates that the average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs increased by 5.68% over the 12-months ending March 2012. This is a modest deceleration from the +5.72% rate posted for February 2012.

As measured by the S&P Healthcare Economic Commercial Index, healthcare costs covered by commercial insurance plans increased by 7.84% over the year ending March 2012, up from +7.69% reported for February 2012. Growth rates in Medicare claim costs rose by 2.41%, down from February's +2.72%, according to the S&P Healthcare Economic Medicare Index. The Professional Services Index annual growth rate also decreased from its February 2012 rate of +5.68% to March's +5.58%. The Hospital Index annual growth rate increased marginally to 5.50% in March from its 5.49% February rate.

In March 2012, the Professional Services Medicare Index hit its lowest rate in more than two years, +2.99%.  This is down more than a half a percentage point from February's +3.55% rate. The Hospital Medicare annual growth rate was also down in March, to +1.80% from its February rate of +1.94%. The Professional Services Commercial Index increased to +6.88% in March from +6.73% in February; and the Hospital Commercial Index accelerated to +8.49% in March from the +8.37% posted for February.

"At a national level, we observed a very moderate deceleration in healthcare costs' annual growth rates in March," says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. "After a prior 12 months of broad deceleration, the second half of 2011 was highlighted by a general upward trend in such rates. March's data indicate that we ended the first quarter of 2012 with this trend more-or-less intact. March's very modest deceleration in healthcare costs was caused by a deceleration in Medicare costs largely offset by an acceleration in Commercial costs.

"In March, five of the nine indices we publish saw deceleration in their annual growth rates. The Composite Index posted an annual rate of +5.68%, the Commercial Index +7.84% and the Medicare Index +2.41%. The Composite and Medicare rates were down from their respective February 2012 levels by 0.04 and 0.31 percentage points, while the Commercial annual growth rate rose by 0.15 percentage points. The Professional Services Index posted an annual rate of +5.58%, down 0.10 percentage points from its February rate. Hospital's +5.50% annual rate was up marginally in March.

"The annual growth rate for the Professional Services Medicare Index hit a two-year low of +2.99% in March 2012. This is more than half of a percentage point lower than what was reported for February. While this series has seen some volatility in recent months, there has been a significant decelerating trend over the past 12 months. It is the only one of the nine indices we publish where annual rates are below where they were in March 2011. The Hospital Medicare Index was down by 0.14 percentage points in March 2012 to a +1.80% annual rate, but is above its March 2011 rate.  Annual rates of change in Medicare costs are the lowest among the nine indices we publish. On the flip side, Professional Services Commercial insurance plans saw the fastest acceleration in March; their annual rate of change was +6.88%, up 0.15 percentage points over February's rate."