August 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 August 2026 briefs.

GDP growth continues to outpace health spending growth, but they have begun to converge in June 2026

• In June 2026, national health spending grew by 5.8%, year over year, down from the May 2026 growth rate of 6.1% and significantly lower than its June 2025 rate of 7.1%.
• GDP grew by 6.1% in June, year over year, lower than its revised May value of 6.8%. As a result, national health spending in June equaled the 18.3% of GDP seen in May. National health spending was last below 18% of GDP in July 2024.
• Year-over-year growth in personal health care spending was 5.5% in June, year over year, down from 7.5% in June 2025.
• Growth among major spending categories was highest for dental services, at 8.2%, year over year, while spending for prescription drugs grew the slowest, at 1.9%. Drug spending growth has slowed significantly this year; it stood at 8.6% in June 2025.

Growth in economy-wide inflation outpaces health care prices for ninth consecutive month

• In July 2026, the overall Health Care Price Index (HCPI) stood at 2.6%, down from its June value of 2.9%.
• Economy-wide inflation declined in July, with year-over-year change in the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreasing by 0.1% from June’s value of 3.5% to 3.4%; the Producer Price Index (PPI) decreased by 0.8% to 4.7%.  
• Among the major health care categories, prices for dental care in July were the fastest-growing at 5.1% year over year. This is an increase from a growth of 4.8% in July of 2025. At the other extreme, prescription drug prices fell by 3.1%—their seventh straight month of lower year-over-year prices.
• For major payers, year-over-year Medicare prices growth for services (3.3%) exceeded private insurance (2.8%) and Medicaid (1.7%).  
• The implicit measure of health care utilization growth was 2.6% year over year in June, down from the May value of 3.1% (July data are not yet available).
• Among major spending categories, home health care utilization increased the fastest, at 5.6%, followed by prescription drugs at 4.3%. Utilization of dental services grew the slowest, at 1.2%. 

Health care job growth bolsters sagging labor market

• In July 2026, health care industry employment increased by 22,000 jobs while non-health care industries lost 45,000 jobs.
• By major subsector, July’s health care job growth was led by ambulatory health care services which added 18,100 jobs, followed by nursing and residential facilities which added 4,300. Hospitals lost 400 jobs.
• For health care and social assistance, the jobs opening rate was 5.3% and the hiring rate was 2.9% in June. The total separations rate was 2.8%.
• The overall unemployment rate was 4.1% in July, down 0.1% from the previous month.
• Nominal health care wage growth in June 2026 was 2.2% year over year, with growth rates of 1.8% in hospitals, 2.2% in ambulatory health care services, and 2.9% in nursing and residential care facilities.