To calculate how many hours Americans need to afford an average hospital stay, ValuePenguin researchers started with the average daily cost of a stay from the Kaiser Family Foundation, according to the report. They then multiplied the average length of stay — 4.6 days, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality — by the average daily cost and divided that figure by the average hourly earnings — via the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
ValuePenguin said in the report that total hours needed assumes workers are footing the entire bill themselves.
“Still, it’s a staggering figure, and it’s one that’s been on the rise,” ValuePenguin said in the report. “In fact, the cost of a typical hospital stay is up 98 percent since 2004, when hospital stays cost an average of $1,450 a day. With consumers earning an average hourly wage of $17.86 in 2004, the typical hospital stay cost 374 hours of work at that time.”
ValuePenguin health insurance expert Nick VinZant said a combination of factors have led to rising healthcare costs, including an aging population and an increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses. He also said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the rising costs.
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