Patient Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014 #225

Patient Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014 #225

AHRQ Stats: Insurance Coverage For Hospital Stays

From 2005 to 2014, the number of Medicaid-insured hospital stays increased nearly 16 percent, while privately insured and uninsured hospital stays both decreased nearly 13 percent. Medicare-insured stays remained essentially unchanged. (Source: AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #225: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014.)

June 2017 Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014 Kimberly W. McDermott, Ph.D., Anne Elixhauser, Ph.D., and Ruirui Sun, Ph.D.

Highlights

Between 2005 and 2014, the inflation-adjusted mean cost per inpatient stay increased by 12.7 percent, from $9,500 to $10,900. Inflation-adjusted cost per stay for patients covered by private insurance or Medicaid increased 16-18 percent. Cost per stay for Medicare-covered patients and the uninsured changed minimally. The rate of inpatient stays decreased the most among patients in the highest income quartiles (15-20 percent decrease). The proportion of Medicaid-covered inpatient stays increased by 15.7 percent, whereas the proportion paid by private insurance and that were uninsured decreased by 12.5 and 13.0 percent, respectively. Mental health/substance use accounted for nearly 6 percent of all inpatient stays in 2014, up 20.1 percent from 2005. Between 2005 and 2014, septicemia and osteoarthritis became two of the five most common reasons for inpatient stays. Septicemia hospital stays almost tripled. Nonspecific chest pain and coronary atherosclerosis decreased by more than 60 percent from 2005 to 2014, falling off the list of top 10 reasons for hospitalization.