HCCI examined annual insurance claims for more than 10 million children covered by job-based healthcare plans, according to a Business Insurance report.. Approximately 50 percent of all children ages 18 and younger were covered by such insurance in 2013.
Spending on children up to age 18 covered by employer plans rose an average of 5.7 percent per year between 2010 and 2013. In the same time frame, spending on all individuals up to age 64 increased by only 3.9 percent per year. The per capita spending for kids increased by $391 since 2010, ending up at $2,574 in 2013, according to a CNBC report.
These findings are partially driven by higher numbers of inpatient admissions to hospitals by children and increased prices for the admissions. Newborn babies between zero and 18-days-old were the largest cause of such admissions.
“We are seeing higher average prices for baby boy admissions than for baby girl admissions,” said Amanda Frost, a senior researcher at HCCI. “We’re not really sure why yet.”
Although the spending on babies was the highest of any age group at a $4,813 per capita amount, spending on children ages 4 to 8 was the lowest at $1,073 per child in 2013.
The study also found that there were fewer emergency room visits in 2013 for all groups of children.
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