Specifically, the average charge rose from $11,400 in 1998 to $21,400 in 2007, adjusting for inflation.
AHRQ’s analysis also found in that period:
• The number of uninsured hospital stays went up by 31 percent, far exceeding a 13 percent overall increase in hospital stays.
• The overall percentage rose the most in the South, going from 5.8 percent to 7.5 percent of all hospital stays.
• The overall percentage actually declined in the Midwest, from 4.7 percent to 4.0 percent of hospital stays.
The top reasons for uninsured hospitalizations were:
1. Childbirth, with a quarter of a million uninsured women giving birth in hospitals in 2007.
2. Depression and bipolar disorder (94,300 in 2007).
3. Chest pain with no observed cause (77,000 in 2007).
4. Skin infections, which more than doubled from 31,000 in 1998 to 73,300 in 2007.
5. Alcohol-related disorders (66,600 in 2007).
The report was based on statistics from the 2007 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, representative of inpatient stays in all short-term, non-federal hospitals.
Read the AHRQ’s report on the uninsured.
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