September 2026 Health Sector Economic Indicators Briefs

Altarum's monthly Health Sector Economic Indicators (HSEI) briefs analyze the most recent data available on health sector spending, prices, employment, and utilization. Below are highlights from the September 2026 briefs.

Growth in personal health care spending for the past year was dominated by utilization growth rather than price increases

• In July 2026, national health spending grew by 6.8% year over year, down from the revised June 2026 growth rate of 7.1%.
• GDP grew by 6.0% in July, year over year. As a result, national health spending in July equaled 18.4% of GDP. National health spending was most recently below 18% of GDP in July 2024.
• Year-over-year growth in personal health care spending was 6.6% in July, year over year, down from 7.0% in June and 7.5% in July 2025. Utilization growth contributed approximately two-thirds of the increase, with price increases contributing one-third.
• Growth among major spending categories was highest for hospital care, at 8.5%, year over year, while spending for prescription drugs grew the slowest, at 1.3%. Drug spending growth has slowed significantly this year; it stood at 8.0% in July 2025.

Prescription drug prices continue to decline as overall price growth has slowed in recent months

• In August 2026, the overall Health Care Price Index (HCPI) stood at 2.5%, equal to its July value.
• Economy-wide inflation in August, as represented in the year-over-year change in the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI), equaled July’s value of 3.4%, while the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 0.6 percentage points to 5.4%.
• Among the major health care categories, prices for dental care in August were the fastest growing at 5.0% year over year. This is an increase from a growth of 4.2% in August of 2025. At the other extreme, prescription drug prices fell by 2.9%—their eighth straight month of lower year-over-year prices.
• For major payers in August, year-over-year Medicare prices growth for services (3.5%) exceeded private insurance (3.0%) and Medicaid (1.8%).  
• The implicit measure of health care utilization growth was 4.1% year over year in July, down slightly from 4.2% in June (August data are not yet available).
• Among major spending categories, hospital care utilization increased the fastest, at 5.2%, followed by physician and clinical services at 5.1%. Utilization of dental services grew the slowest, at 2.5%. 

Health care job growth continues five-month trend of slowing

• In August 2026, health care industry employment increased by 12,900 jobs while non-health care industries gained 149,100 jobs. This continues a five-month trend of slowing health care job growth.
• By major subsector, August’s health care job growth was led by hospitals which added 7,600 jobs, followed closely by ambulatory health care services which added 7,100. Nursing and residential facilities lost 1,800 jobs.
• For health care and social assistance, the jobs opening rate was 5.7% and the hiring rate was 2.8% in July. The total separations rate was 2.7%.
• The overall unemployment rate was 4.1% in August, equal to the previous month.
• Nominal health care wage growth in July 2026 was 2.2% year over year, with growth rates of 1.5% in hospitals, 2.6% in ambulatory health care services, and 2.8% in nursing and residential care facilities.