Health care services are out-of-pocket costs for the employee and carrier zone rates by location, along with hospital costs. They are based primarily upon group medical benefits as tracked by national carriers and in-house methodology. Health care services vary by family size. A price level index built up from a market basket of heath care services is used to estimate costs for individual locations for every data update (released twice each quarter). Proxy goods and services in the market basket include a “check-up” to a primary care physician, a regular cleaning with a dentist, and the cost of a widely prescribed non-generic pharmaceutical.
Please note: There is a difference in employee out-of-pocket expenses in some countries due to socialized medical programs.
See Two City Comparison - Background for more information.