Section 4: Costs for Inpatient Hospital Stays PDF

EXHIBIT 4.1 Cost by Body System PDF
EXHIBIT 4.2 Cost by Diagnosis PDF

• Inflation-adjusted aggregate costs for hospital stays rose from $222.4 billion in 1997 to $343.9 billion in 2007 — an increase of 55 percent.
• The most important driver of cost increases was greater intensity of services provided during the hospital stay. Costs per discharge increased by 3.1 percent annually.
• Growth in intensity of services accounted for 70 percent of the growth in aggregate costs, while population growth was responsible for 24 percent and an increased number of discharges per population for 6 percent.
• Circulatory conditions accounted for 22 percent ($74.6 billion) and injury and poisonings for 11 percent ($37.2 billion) of all costs for inpatient stays in 2007.
• Hospital stays related to pregnancy, childbirth, and newborns together accounted for the most stays (9.7 million) and the third highest costs ($34.2 billion) among body systems. The average hospital cost for these conditions was less than that for any other body system condition, making the aggregate costs relatively low despite the high volume of stays.
• The fastest increase in body system costs was for infections and parasitic diseases, more than doubling between 1997 ($6.6 billion) and 2007 ($15.3 billion).
• Septicemia was responsible for almost all (94 percent) of the increase in costs of infectious and parasitic conditions as it tripled in costs from $4.1 billion in 1997 to $12.3 billion in 2007.
• Exhibiting the second fastest growth among body systems, costs for stays for musculoskeletal conditions also more than doubled—from $11.8 billion in 1997 to $26.8 billion in 2007.
• Costs for osteoarthritis and back problems more than doubled and were together responsible for 80 percent of the increase in costs of musculoskeletal conditions between 1997 and 2007.

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