Health care index shows 3.8 percent increase in fourth quarter 2011

The annual cost of health care for individuals with employer-sponsored insurance rose 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, and 0.8 percent compared to the third quarter of 2011, the Thomson Reuters Healthcare Spending Index for Private Insurance reported April 19. The index measures historical and current levels of per capita health care spending for people with employer-sponsored coverage, and provides a benchmark measure of health care inflation.