Health care price growth approached a historic low in September. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The rise in overall spending within the U.S. health care sector has been muted, due mainly to hospitals trying to control increasing costs – including shifting delivery of care from inpatient to outpatient settings, according to Altarum’s latest Health Sector Economic Indicators Briefs.

National health spending in September rose to $3.53 trillion, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, hampered primarily by slow spending by hospitals, which rose just 1.9 percent. The hospital spending growth rate is the lowest since September 2011, when it was 1.8 percent.

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Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.

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