Firearm-related injuries drove $7.7 billion in healthcare spending over six years, with $1.6 billion attributable to 2021 alone, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum on Sept. 26. More than half the costs were billed to Medicaid.
The study estimated how much U.S. hospitals spent on firearm injuries between 2016 and 2021 by evaluating emergency department and inpatient visits across six states.
Emergency department and inpatient visits — as well as spending — were steady between 2016 and 2019, but the pandemic’s spike in violence changed the pattern. In 2019, the annual total healthcare cost hovered at $1.2 billion before jumping in 2021.
Most of the costs stemmed from assaults and unintentional shootings. Black males with multiple assault injuries who visited large, urban resource hospitals that serve Medicaid beneficiaries from low-income areas made up the largest proportion of the spending.
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