While hospitals account for one-third of the health care dollar, spending on hospital care has grown more slowly than spending on other health care services, according to a new AHA report  on the sources of growth in spending on patient care in hospitals. Spending for hospital care rose by 4.5% between 2007 and 2008, far less than health insurance premiums. Based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services andAHA Annual Survey, the report shows that rising costs to hospitals for the goods and services purchased to provide care accounted for 64% of overall growth in spending on hospital care from 2004 to 2008, while rising demand for care accounted for about 34%. Growth in labor costs is the single most important factor driving up the cost of hospital care, accounting for about 35% of overall growth and more than half of the growth in the costs of purchased goods and services.