While not mentioning the Apple tablet or similar devices by name, the company's bankruptcy papers cite "increases in the use of electronic data transmission and storage" and "an increased demand for electronic reading material".
Costs were pushed up by increases in the use of prescription drugs, outpatient care, ambulatory surgery, radiology and emergency room and specialist physicians' services.
Research shows sharp increases in the use of drugs like Ritalin to treat children with the disorder, suggesting it is becoming more common or being overdiagnosed.
Previous studies had shown significant increases in the use of stimulants and antidepressants to treat children between the ages of 5 and 19.
According to Medicare, there have been great increases in the use of drugs for the cardiovascular and central nervous systems and for Type 2 diabetes.
Over the 10 years, the increases in the use of stimulants were greater for girls than boys, especially in the H.M.O.
But they also argue that increases in the use of information technology by companies of all sorts account for just under half the recent rise.
The reasons for this sudden spike in electric costs include not only higher fuel prices but also dramatic increases in the use of electricity because of the booming economy and no comparable increase in the amount of power being produced.
In the power sector, utilities have been switching to natural gas from coal, but further increases in the use of gas will most likely depend on whether Congress puts a price on carbon dioxide emissions, as it is considering.
Dr. Julie Magno Zito, an associate professor of pharmacy and medicine at the University of Maryland who has documented striking increases in the use of antidepressants for children, said she did not find the study convincing.
The increases in premiums are driven by prices charged by doctors, hospitals, drug companies and other suppliers, and by increases in the use of health care by an aging population, Ms. Braly said.
