U.S. hospitals billed nearly $1.2 trillion in total charges in 2008 for inpatient hospitalizations, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The report, titled “The National Hospital Bill: The Most Expensive Conditions by Payer, 2008,” revealed hospital care accounted for the largest portion of U.S. healthcare spending in 2008 at 31 percent. The $1.2 trillion in charges involved 39.9 million hospital stays, excluding hospital outpatient care, emergency care for patients not admitted or physician fees for admissions.
Medicare and Medicaid bore responsibility for 60 percent of the national hospital bill. Private insurance was billed for 32.2 percent and uninsured patients accounted for 4.1 percent of the national bill.
Five conditions accounted for more than one-fifth of the total charges. These top five conditions were: pregnancy and delivery, blood infection, coronary artery disease, newborn infants and osteoarthritis.
Read “The National Hospital Bill: The Most Expensive Conditions by Payer, 2008” (pdf).
Read more about healthcare costs:
– Hospitals’ Price Increases Follow Their Costs, Study Finds
– Miami Has Highest Healthcare Costs in the Country
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