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Treating
aging Baby Boomers cost hospitals $56
billion
Newswise — U.S. hospitals spent roughly $56
billion in 2007 – 16 percent of their
overall patient care costs – treating baby
boomers ages 55 to 64, according to the
latest News and Numbers from the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality.
With
an expected increase of 18 percent by 2020,
the baby boom population is expected to
increase at a faster rate than any other
group under age 65.
AHRQ’s analysis found that in 2007:
o Hospitals' costs to treat baby boomers was
nearly equal to the older generation of 65
to 74 year-olds, $56 billion and $59 billion
respectively.
In
contrast, baby boomers cost hospitals $10
billion more than the younger generation of
patients 45 to 54 years old.
o The average hospital cost for a baby
boomer patient $11,900, compared with
$10,400 for 45-54 year-olds.
o Baby boomers were 2-3 times more likely
than 45-54 year olds to be hospitalized for
osteoarthritis, stroke, respiratory failure,
irregular heart beat, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disorder, blood infections, and
congestive heart failure as well as undergo
knee and hip replacements and have heart
bypass surgery.
o About 37 percent of baby boomer patients
were covered by public insurance, mainly
Medicaid, 52 percent had private insurance,
and 6 percent were uninsured.
This AHRQ News and Numbers is based on data
in Hospital Utilization among Near-Elderly
Adults, Ages 55 to 64 Years, 2007 (http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb79.jsp).
The report uses statistics from the 2007
Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of
hospital inpatient stays that is nationally
representative of inpatient stays in all
short-term, non-Federal hospitals.
The data are drawn from hospitals that
comprise 90 percent of all discharges in the
United States and include all patients,
regardless of insurance type, as well as the
uninsured.
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