Medical care prices at the consumer level increased in 2007 at a moderate rate similar to those of recent years. Specifically, the medical care component of the consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.4% last year. That is comparable to the 4.2% average annual increase over the five-year (2003–2007) reference period, during which year-to-year increases varied from 4.0% to 4.7%. The last dozen years have manifested relative stability in medical care inflation, in contrast with rates two to three times as great in previous decades.