Section 4: Costs for Inpatient Hospital Stays (PDF)

EXHIBIT 4.1 Cost by Principal Diagnosis (PDF)
EXHIBIT 4.2 Cost Factors Accounting for Growth by Principal Diagnosis (PDF)
EXHIBIT 4.3 Cost by Age (PDF)
EXHIBIT 4.4 Cost by Payer (PDF)
EXHIBIT 4.5 Cost by Diagnostic Category (PDF)

• The top three conditions with the highest aggregate costs—septicemia, coronary atherosclerosis, and osteoarthritis —accounted for more than 11 percent of all hospital costs in 2008.
• Three of the twenty most expensive conditions were musculoskeletal: osteoarthritis, spondylosis, intervertebral disc disorders, and other back problems, and fracture of neck of femur (hip).
• Costs for osteoarthritis and spondylosis grew at more than twice the pace of total hospital costs between 1997 and 2008.
• Between 1997 and 2008, costs for acute renal failure, septicemia, and respiratory failure grew at two to three times the rate of total hospital costs.
• Hospital stays for septicemia cost a total of $14.6 billion and accounted for 791,000 discharges.
• Aggregate costs for stays in community hospitals grew 4.4 percent annually between 1997 and 2008.
• Growth in intensity of services accounted for 71 percent of the growth in aggregate costs, while population growth was responsible for 24 percent and an increased number of discharges per population for only 5 percent of the growth in aggregate costs.
• Non-elderly adult (45 to 64 years) discharges accounted for less than half (48 percent) of the aggregate cost of all inpatient stays, including maternal and neonatal stays.
• Patients 65-84 years accounted for 35 percent of all hospital costs.
• Medicare, the single largest expected payer for hospitalizations in 2008, accounted for 46 percent of aggregate inpatient costs.
• Medicaid stays accounted for 14 percent of in-hospital costs.
• Private insurance was responsible for 32 percent of aggregate costs; the uninsured were responsible for 4 percent.
• Five broad groups of conditions - circulatory, musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, respiratory, digestive, and maternal/neonatal stays accounted for more than half of total hospital costs in 2008.
• Maternal and neonatal stays were responsible for the greatest portion of hospital costs for Medicaid hospitalization costs (27 percent) compared to only 14 percent of private payer costs.
• Stays for musculoskeletal system and connective tissue conditions accounted for larger shares of hospital costs for Medicare (14 percent) and private insurance (15 percent) than for Medicaid (6 percent) and the uninsured (8 percent).

Previous  Next