AHRQ Stats: Inpatient Costs for Cancer

Inpatient hospital costs represented 35 percent of total spending for cancer treatment in 2011, down from 47 percent in 2001. (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #443: Trends in Use and Expenditures for Cancer Treatment among Adults 18 and Older, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2001 and 2011.)

STATISTICAL BRIEF #443:
Trends in Use and Expenditures for Cancer Treatment among Adults 18 and Older, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2001 and 2011

June 2014

Anita Soni, PhD, MBA

Highlights

In 2011, approximately 15.8 million adults or 6.7 percent of the adult U.S. population received treatment for cancer. This represents an increase from 2001, when 10.2 million adults or 4.8 percent of the population reported receiving treatment for cancer.
Medical spending to treat cancer increased from $56.8 billion in 2001 (in 2011 dollars) to $88.3 billion in 2011.
Ambulatory expenditures for care and treatment of cancer increased from $25.5 billion in 2001 to $43.8 billion in 2011.
Expenditures on retail prescription medications for cancer increased from $2.0 billion in 2001 to $10.0 billion in 2011.
Mean annual retail prescription drug expenditures for those with an expense related to cancer increased more than three times, from $201 per person in 2001 (in 2011 dollars) to $634 per person in 2011.
Inpatient hospital expenditures accounted for 47 percent of total spending for cancer treatment in 2001, but fell to 35 percent of the total by 2011.