Medical care · BLS CPI-U · 1997–2026
Doctor visits Inflation — U.S. Consumer Price Index
As of June 2026, the CPI-U index for Physicians' services is up 2.4% from a year earlier. Physicians' services prices.
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). pumsdata is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by BLS.
Doctor visits: year-over-year inflation, 1998–2026
Percent change from the same month a year earlier, from the not-seasonally-adjusted CPI-U index.
October 2025 is missing from every CPI series — the federal government shutdown halted collection and the month was never published. Charts show a gap, and year-over-year and month-over-month figures skip any comparison touching the missing month; values are never interpolated.
Doctor visits: annual averages
BLS annual-average index (the CPI file’s M13 rows, shown verbatim) and the year-over-year change in that average — the standard “annual inflation” figure.
| Year | Annual avg. index | Annual inflation |
|---|---|---|
| 2025* | 428.5 | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 417.9 | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 412.6 | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 411.9 | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 406.5 | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 389.9 | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 383.2 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 380.5 | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 380.1 | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 378.1 | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 366.1 | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 359.1 | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 354.2 | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 347.3 | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 340.3 | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 331.3 | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 320.8 | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 311.3 | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 303.2 | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 291.9 | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 287.5 | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 278.3 | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 267.7 | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 260.6 | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 253.6 | +3.6% |
| 2000 | 244.7 | +3.7% |
| 1999 | 236.0 | +2.8% |
| 1998 | 229.5 | +3.0% |
| 1997 | 222.9 | — |
*The 2025 annual average reflects the eleven published months — October 2025 was never collected because of the federal government shutdown.
Doctor visits inflation — FAQ
What is the current Doctor visits inflation rate?+
As of June 2026, the CPI-U index for Physicians' services is up 2.4% from a year earlier (not seasonally adjusted). Month over month, the seasonally adjusted index moved -0.2% in June 2026.
When was Doctor visits inflation highest since 1997?+
By annual averages, the biggest increase since 1997 came in 2021, when the Physicians' services index rose 4.3% over 2020.
Is Doctor visits inflation higher than overall inflation?+
As of June 2026, the Physicians' services index is up 2.4% year over year, versus up 3.5% for overall inflation (all items CPI-U). That is a slower increase than overall inflation (all items CPI-U) — prices in this category are still rising, just less quickly.
Why is October 2025 missing from the Doctor visits data?+
October 2025 is missing from every CPI series — the federal government shutdown halted collection and the month was never published. Charts show a gap, and year-over-year and month-over-month figures skip any comparison touching the missing month; values are never interpolated.
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). pumsdata is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by BLS.