United States to Reach $1 Trillion Hospital Bill

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Trillion DollarsIn 2005 all hospitals in the United States were able to charge $873 billion, which represents an increase of 90 percent in comparison with 1997. Such data was provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research.

 

In average the yearly increase in the national hospital bill was around 4.5%. If this rate is maintained, researchers presume that in 2008 the bill may reach a huge sum of $1 trillion.

 

The report from AHRQ also provided the following data:

 

- Medicare gave away $411 billion of the national hospital bill, then goes private insurance with $272 billion and finally Medicaid with $124 billion. Uninsured hospital charged $38 billion. The rest, which accounts $28 billion, was for other insurers, such as Workers' Compensation, TRICARE, as well as Title V and other programs monitored by the government.

- 1/5th of the national hospital bill went for the cure of 5 major conditions. $46 billion went for treating coronary artery disease, $44 billion for pregnancy and childbirth, $35 billion was charged for newborn infant care, $32 billion for curing heart attack, and $30 billion was spent for treating congestive heart failure.

- The growth of other 10 conditions was much higher than the average of all hospital stays. Below there's the percentage growth of the 10 other major conditions:

- Sepsis – 189 %

- Chest pain – 181 %

- Respiratory failure - 171 %

- Back pain - 170 %

- Osteoarthritis - 165 %

- Irregular heart beat - 131 %

- Procedure complications- 120 %

- Congestive heart failure - 117 %

- Medical device complications - 113 %

- Diabetes - 97 %

 

The above provided data is based on information from the National Hospital Bill: Growth Trends and 2005 Update on the Most Expensive Conditions by Payer. AHRQ News and Numbers reports shows statistics provided by the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which is a one of a kind and very powerful database of hospital inpatient stays. All figures represent hospitals that include 90 % of all discharges in the U. S. and encompass all patients, both insured and uninsured.

 

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