AHRQ Stats

The top 1 percent of the U.S. population ranked by health care expenses accounted for 21.4 percent of expenditures in 2010
The top 1 percent of the U.S. population ranked by their health care expenses accounted for 21.4 percent of total health care expenditures in 2010, with an annual mean expenditure of $87,570. Overall, the top 50 percent of the population ranked by their expenditures accounted for 97.2 percent of overall health care expenditures, while the lower 50 percent accounted for only 2.8 percent of the total. (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #421, Differentials in the Concentration in the Level of Health Expenditures Across Population Subgroups in the U.S., 2010 available at http://go.usa.gov/DXwd).
AHRQ stats reveal five most expensive conditions treated in U.S. hospitals in 2010
The five most expensive conditions treated in U.S. hospitals in 2010 in terms of average cost per stay were respiratory failure ($22,300); septicemia or bloodstream infections ($18,400); heart attack ($18,200); intracranial injury ($18,000); and complication from a device, implant, or graft ($17,600). (Source: AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #146, Costs for Hospital Stays in the United States, 2010 available at http://hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb146.jsp).
Most common reasons for children's emergency department visits
Injury, poisoning, and respiratory disorders were the most common reasons for the 25.5 million emergency department visits among children younger than 18 years old in 2010. (Source: AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #157: Overview of Children in the Emergency Department, 2010 available at http://go.usa.gov/DXfm).
Injury-related emergency room visits among persons age 65 and older
In 2010, more than 70 percent of injury-related emergency department visits among persons age 65 and older were related to falls. In that same year, injury accounted for 17 percent of all emergency department visits. (Source: AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #156: Causes of Injuries Treated in the Emergency Department, 2010 available at http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb156.jsp).
Individuals 50 and older with heart disease more likely to have a hospital stay or emergency room visit in 2010
Individuals age 50 and older with heart disease were more than twice as likely as those without heart disease to have either a hospital stay or an emergency room visit in 2010. They also had average annual health expenditures that were a little more than double the average for individuals without a diagnosis of heart disease. (Source: AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #408, Heart Disease among Near Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010 available at http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st408/stat408.shtml and Statistical Brief #409, Heart Disease among Elderly Americans: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2010, available at http://go.usa.gov/DX7x).

Current as of October 2013

Internet Citation: AHRQ Stats. October 2013. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsletters/research-activities/13oct/1013RA17.html