Which Conditions Treated in the Hospital Have the Highest Charges?

Press Release Date: September 14, 2000

The three conditions with the highest average hospital charges also had the longest lengths of stay in 1997—infant respiratory distress syndrome, spinal cord injury, and prematurity (short gestation) and low birth weight.

• Charges for the most expensive condition—infant respiratory distress syndrome—reached $68,000. The average length of stay for this condition was almost 25 days in 1997.
• Only one of the top five conditions—spinal cord injury—is trauma related.

Conditions with the highest charges are relatively uncommon. The five most expensive conditions combined represent less than 1 percent of all discharges.

Select to access a chart on Conditions with Highest Average Charges (PDF File, 9 KB; PDF Help).

Select to access additional data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP).

For more information, please contact Robert Isquith, (301) 427-1539 or RIsquith@ahrq.gov.

Internet Citation:

Which Conditions Treated in the Hospital Have the Highest Charges? Press Release, September 14, 2000. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2000/hospcare.htm