Top 10 Highest Average Charges for an Inpatient Hospital Stay by Principal Diagnosis

1. Spinal cord injury — $113,181 (14.0 days)
2. Respiratory distress syndrome — $106,490 (22.7 days)
3. Heart valve disorders — $105,733 (9.0 days)
4. Short gestation, low birth weight, and fetal growth retardation — $101,214 (25.7 days)
5. Leukemias — $87,579 (14.2 days)
6. Cardiac and circulatory congenital anomalies — $86,237 (8.0 days)
7. Other central nervous system infection and poliomyelitis — $75,389 (14.1 days)
8. Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia — $72,860 (12.5 days)
9. Aortic, peripheral, and visceral artery aneurysms — $72,063 (6.4 days)
10. Cancer of stomach — $63,338 (10.5 days)

Although charges are generally more than the amount paid by payors because of negotiated discounts, they are useful for comparing the costliness of different types of hospital stays.

Note: To see a list of average changes and lengths of stay for more than 250 principal diagnoses, click here.

Source: Levit K (Thomson Reuters), Stranges E (Thomson Reuters), Ryan K (Thomson Reuters), Elixhauser A (AHRQ). HCUP Facts and Figures, 2006: Statistics on Hospital-based Care in the United States. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2008. http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports.jsp