Health Care Costs and Utilization

Ambulatory Surgery in U.S. Hospitals, 2003. C. Russo, P. Owens, C. Steiner, et al., HCUP Fact Book No. 9, January 2007, 52 pp. Examines differences in utilization and cost of various surgical procedures performed in inpatient and hospital-based outpatient settings. Data are from 17 States in AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases and State Ambulatory Surgery Databases. (AHRQ 07-0007)

Care of Adults with Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders in U.S. Community Hospitals, 2004. P. Owens, M. Myers, A. Elixhauser, et al., HCUP Fact Book, No. 10, January 2007, 56 pp. Examines patient characteristics and resource use by people ages 18 and older who were treated for mental health and/or substance use conditions in general (as opposed to specialty) hospitals in 2004. Special topics including suicide-related stays and maternal stays complicated by mental health conditions are included. (AHRQ 07-0008)

Changes in Financial Burdens for Health Care: National Estimates for the Population Younger than 65 Years, 1996 to 2003. J. Banthin, D. Bernard, Journal of the American Medical Association 296(22): December 13, 2006, 2712-2719. Provides estimates of the number and characteristics of individuals in the United States who were faced with very high financial burdens for health care at two points in time, 1996 and 2003. (AHRQ 07-R022)

The Changing Pattern of Hospital Care for Persons Living with HIV: 2000 Through 2004. F. Hellinger, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 45(2): June 2007, 239-246. Compares inpatient use and costs for people living with HIV in 2000 with inpatient use and costs in 2004. (AHRQ 07-R060)

Consumer Financial Incentives: A Decision Guide for Purchasers. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, November 2007, 39 pp. Provides a tool for exploring if and how consumer financial incentives might be used to improve community or market readiness for health care quality improvement. (AHRQ 07(08)-0059)

Cost of Hospitalization for Preterm and Low Birth Weight Infants in the United States. R. Russell, N. Green, C. Steiner, et al., Pediatrics 120(1): July 2007, e1-e9. Presents estimates of national hospital costs for infant hospital admissions associated with preterm birth and/or low birthweight. (AHRQ 07-R066)

The Distribution of Public Spending for Health Care in the United States, 2002. T. Selden, M. Sing, Health Affairs July 29, 2008; online. Examines 2002 data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey aligned to the National Health Expenditure Accounts and augmented with simulated tax subsidies to determine public spending for health care in the United States in 2002 dollars. (AHRQ 08-R077)

Does Participation in the Food Stamp Program Increase the Prevalence of Obesity and Health Care Spending? C. Meyerhoefer, Y. Pylypchuk, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 90(2): May 2008, 287-305. Uses panel data techniques and information on State-level food stamp program characteristics to obtain unbiased estimates of the impact of food stamp program participation on weight status and health care expenditures of nonelderly adults. (AHRQ 08-R072)

Financial Burden of Health Care,2001-2004. J. Banthin, P. Cunningham, D. Bernard, Health Affairs 27(1): January/February 2008, 188-195. Presents the results of an analysis of MEPS data, which found that rising out-of-pocket expenses and stagnant incomes increased the financial burden of health care for families during the years 2001-2004, especially for the privately insured. (AHRQ 08-R032)

HCUPnet. This interactive online service from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) gives users easy access to national statistics as well as to selected State statistics about hospital stays. HCUPnet guides users step-by-step to obtain these statistics by using data from HCUP's Nationwide Inpatient Sample, Kids' Inpatient Database, and State Inpatient Databases for States that participate. Web-based HCUPnet is a user-friendly source for information on various aspects of care in U.S. hospitals, such as: the "National Bill" for total hospital charges for the most expensive conditions; "Instant Tables" that give statistics on the most common conditions and procedures; and trends (beginning 1993) in length of hospital stays, in-hospital deaths, charges, and other outcomes for all conditions and procedures. HCUPnet is free and publicly available at: http://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/.

Health Care Expenditure Burdens Among Adults with Diabetes in 2001. D. Bernard, J. Banthin, W. Encinosa, Medical Care 44(3): March 2006, 210-215. Examines financial burdens among adults with diabetes using nationally representative data. Emphasizes the role of medications and diabetic supplies in contributing to high out-of-pocket burdens. (AHRQ 06-R052)

Health, Spending and the Effort to Improve Quality in OECD Countries: A Review of the Data. E. Kelley, Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 127(2): March 2007, 64-71. Summarizes what is known about a range of issues in health system performance, including spending and outcomes. Uses data on health, spending, risk factors, and quality of care from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to examine and compare health care quality at the international level. (AHRQ 08-R065)

Hospital Charges Attributable to a Primary Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases in Older Adults in the United States, 1998-2004. A. Curns, C. Steiner, J. Sejvar, et al., Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 56: June 2008, 969-975. Describes total and average hospital charges associated with infectious disease hospitalization rates in adults aged 65 and older in the United States from 1998 through 2004. (AHRQ 08-R073)

Hospital Inpatient Costs for Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions. B. Friedman, H. Jiang, A. Elixhauser, et al., Medical Care Research and Review 63(3): June 2006, 327-346. Provides national estimates of the proportions of hospital inpatient cases and cost for adult, nonmaternal patients who have multiple chronic conditions. (AHRQ 06-R070)

Kids' Inpatient Database (KID). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, May 2007, two-fold brochure. Provides information about the Kids' Inpatient Database, a hospital administrative dataset that is designed specifically to assess hospital care among newborns, children, and adolescents. Part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), the KID is an affordable database for studying hospital use among children. (AHRQ 06(07)-0016-2)

MEPS: A Survey of Health Care Use and Spending. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, July 2007, 9 pp. Brochure describes the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), including the various survey components; the types of data collected; how the data can be used by researchers, policymakers, health care administrators, and others; and how to obtain MEPS data. Sample MEPS findings are presented. (AHRQ 07-0078)

Monitoring and Evaluating Medicaid Fee-for-Service Care Management Programs. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, November 2007, 43 pp and 2 pp insert. Guides users through the steps of program evaluation, from getting started to thinking about budget to executing the evaluation itself. Includes a two-page insert for program directors and policymakers. (AHRQ 08-0012)

National Trends in the Costs of Bariatric Surgery. W. Encinosa, D. Bernard, C. Steiner, Bariatrics Today 3:2005, 10-12. Examines recent national trends in the hospital costs of bariatric surgery, answers the question of who is paying for bariatric surgery, and examines which types of hospitals have low bariatric surgery costs. (AHRQ 06-R031)

Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) Brochure. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, March 2006. Provides information about the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), a nationally representative of all short-term, non-Federal hospitals. Part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, the NIS is a reliable and affordable database for studying hospital data on important health care topics. (AHRQ 06-0016-1)

New Cardiovascular Drugs: Patterns of Use and Association with Non-Drug Health Expenditures. G. Miller, J. Moeller, R. Stafford, Inquiry 42(4): Winter 2005/2006, 397-412. Using nationally representative data on health care expenditures, investigates the role of prescription drugs in treating cardiovascular conditions. (AHRQ 06-R027)

Prescription Drugs and the Changing Concentration of Health Care Expenditures. S. Zuvekas, J. Cohen, Health Affairs 26(1): January/February 2007, 249-257. Explores the impact of rapid growth in prescription drug spending on the shifting concentration of health care expenditures in the United States. (AHRQ 07-R031)

Procedures in U.S. Hospitals, 2003. C. Merrill, A. Elixhauser, HCUP Fact Book, No. 7, May 2006, 50 pp. Summarizes information about hospital procedures from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, an all-payer hospital database maintained by AHRQ. Describes facts such as which procedures are most common, who receives them, which are performed in "high-volume" hospitals, and who is billed for them. (AHRQ 06-0039)

Reconciling Medical Expenditure Estimates from the MEPS and NHEA, 2002. M. Sing, J. Banthin, T. Selden, et al., Health Care Financing Review 28(1): Fall 2006, 25-40. Compares 2002 health care expenditure estimates from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the National Health Expenditure Accounts and discusses their differences. (AHRQ 07-R033)

Relative Value in Healthcare: Cost-effectiveness of Interventions. J. Siegel, C. Clancy, Journal of Nursing Care Quality 21(2): April-June 2006, 99-103. Discusses the role of nurses and nursing research in accurately estimating the cost-effectiveness of health care innovations. (AHRQ 06-R064)

Renewed Growth in Hospital Inpatient Cost Since 1998: Variation Across Metropolitan Areas and Leading Clinical Conditions. B. Friedman, H. Wong, C. Steiner, American Journal of Managed Care 12(3): March 2006, 157-166. Uses disaggregated data abut metropolitan statistical areas and clinical conditions to describe the variation in cost increases and explore some of the hypothesized influences. (AHRQ 06-R062)

State Ambulatory Surgery Databases (SASD) Brochure. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, September 2007. Provides information about the State Ambulatory Surgery Databases (SASD), which capture ambulatory surgery encounters at hospital facilities (and some free-standing facilities) within each participating State. The SASD have been available since 1997 and are an integral component of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) family of databases. (AHRQ 06(07)-0016-4)

State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) Brochure. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, September 2007. Provides information about the State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD), available annually since 1999. The SEDD capture emergency visits at hospital-affiliated emergency departments that do not result in hospital admission. To facilitate multi-State comparisons and analyses, data are translated into a uniform, user-friendly format. The SEDD are an integral component of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) family of databases. (AHRQ 06(07)-0016-5)

State Inpatient Databases (SID) Brochure. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, September 2007. Provides information about the State Inpatient Databases (SID), an integral component of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) family of databases. Each participating State's SID includes patient discharge records from that State. The SID have been available annually since 1990 and are ideal for studying State-level inpatient health care issues. (AHRQ 06(07)-0016-3)

Trends in Medical Care Costs, Coverage, Use and Access: Research Findings from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. S. Cohen (ed.) Medical Care Supplement, 44(5): May 2006. Features nine original articles that highlight recent research studies that demonstrate the utility of this unique national information resource to inform trends in medical care costs, coverage, use, and access. (OM 06-0074)

Trends in Prescription Drug Expenditures by Medicaid Enrollees. J. Banthin, G. Miller, Medical Care 44(5): May 2006, I-27-I-35. Uses data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, linked to a prescription drug therapeutic classification system, to examine trends between 1996/1997 and 2001/2002 in utilization and expenditures for the noninstitutionalized Medicaid population. Highlights differences within the Medicaid population, including children, adults, disabled, and elderly. (AHRQ 06-R040)

The Utility of Probabilistic Models to Identify Individuals With Future High Medical Expenditures. S. Cohen, T. Ezzati-Rice, W. Yu, Journal of Economic and Social Measurement 30(2-3):2005, 135-144. Presents an evaluation tool to assess the utility of probabilistic models in terms of their capacity to successfully oversample policy relevant population subgroups that are subject to transitions. (AHRQ 06-R033)

Will All Americans Become Overweight or Obese? Estimating the Progression and Cost of the U.S. Obesity Epidemic. Y. Wang, M. Beydoun, L. Liang, et al., Obesity, July 24, 2008, online. Projects future prevalence and body mass index distribution based on national survey data collected between the 1970s and 2004. (AHRQ 08-R078)

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