“The composite, Medicare and hospital indices all posted record low annual rates in their six-year history with April’s report. Since May’s data covers only one month, we need more time to determine if the trend is changing or if this is a temporary blip, like we saw in January,” he says.

Both office visit and hospital admission trends are relatively low, which may be a reflection of the overall consumer pullback in medical treatment, Blitzer says. Additionally, providers are trying to address health care reform and are looking for ways to control costs.

The S&P Healthcare Economic Indices estimate the per capita change in revenues accrued each month by hospital and professional services facilities for services provided to patients covered under traditional Medicare and commercial health insurance programs in the U.S. The annual growth rates are determined by calculating a percent change of the 12-month moving averages of the monthly index levels versus the same month of the prior year.