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Did you know...
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In 2004, the
national hospital bill totaled almost $800 billion for nearly 39
million hospital stays making the average bill for a hospital
stay $20,500. 1
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This number is misleading because
it includes costs for ALL patients regardless of age and
regardless of condition. “Median” cost is a more accurate
comparative figure. “Median” cost is the cost where half the
hospital stays cost more and half cost less. This minimizes
exaggeration due to expensive procedures on very ill patients.
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The median charges for all hospital
stays for age group 18 – 44 was $8,698 and involved 3.7 days
hospital confinement. 2
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Median charges for age group 1 – 17
was only slightly lower at $7,445 and involved 3.6 days of
hospital confinement. 2
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Hospital charges and length of stay
figures are often skewed by admissions for newborn infants and
pregnancies. 2
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The most expensive conditions
treated were 1) Coronary Arthrosclerosis, 2) mother’s pregnancy
and delivery, 3) newborn infants, 4) Acute Myocardial
Infarction, and 5) congestive heart failure. 1
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After pregnancy- and
childbirth-related procedures were excluded, 3 or the 10 most
common procedures in 2003 were related to cardio vascular
systems … diagnostic catheterization, PTCA, and echocardiogram.
4
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Emergency Room Admissions to the
hospital occurred, most commonly, for the following 5 reasons:
1) Pneumonia, 2) Congestive Heart Failure, 3) Chest Pain, 4)
Hardening of the Arteries (coronary atherosclerosis), and 5)
Heart attack (acute myocardial infarction). 3
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On average, men and women received
the same number of procedures per hospital stay … 2 procedures
per confinement. 4
1.
U.S.
Dept. of Health & Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, Statistical Brief #13, “The National Hospital Bill: The
Most Expensive Conditions, by Payer, 2004. C.Allison Russo, M.P.H.
and Roxanne M. Andrews, Ph. D.
2.
U.S.
Dept. of Health & Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, HCUPnet, National and regional estimates on hospital use
for all patients from the HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample.
3.
U.S.
Dept. of Health & Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, Statistical Brief #2, “Reasons for Being Admitted to the
Hospital through the Emergency Department, 2003”. Anne Elixhauser,
Ph.D. and Pamela Owens, Ph.D.
4.
U.S.
Dept. of Health & Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, HCUP Factbook No. 7: Procedures in U.S. Hospitals, 2003.
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