Top Five Most Costly Conditions Treated in U.S. Hospitals

AHRQ News and Numbers

Release date: July 19, 2005

The nation's hospitals billed insurers and consumers nearly $754 billion in total charges in 2003, according to just-released national estimates by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The charges, which do not include physician fees, were for approximately 38 million patient stays.

The five most expensive conditions were:

• Hardening of the arteries and other heart conditions
  • $44,158,244,278.
  • 1,256,548 patients.
• Heart attack
  • $31,475,951,499.
  • 750,719 patients.
• Congestive heart failure
  • $26,793,235,129.
  • 1,119,934 patients.
• Pneumonia
  • $26,051,607,813.
  • 1,314,590 patients.
  .
• Newborn infants
  • $24,823,692,504.
  • 4,089,219 patients.

Internet Citation:

Top Five Most Costly Conditions Treated in U.S. Hospitals. AHRQ News and Numbers, July 19, 2005. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/nn/nn071905.htm