Economic burden of hospitalizations of Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure

Abstract

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess the costs associated with the hospitalization and the cumulative 30-, 60-, and 90-day readmission rates in a cohort of Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure (HF).MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational study based on data from the national 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Inpatient data were gathered for Medicare beneficiaries with at least one HF-related hospitalization between July 1, 2005, and December 31, 2011. The primary end point was the average per-patient cost of hospitalization for individuals with HF. Secondary end points included the cumulative rate of hospitalization, the average length of hospital stay, and the cumulative 30-, 60-, and 90-day readmission rates.ResultsData from 63,678 patients with a mean age of 81.8 years were included in the analysis. All costs were inflated to $2,015 based on the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index. The mean per-patient cost of an HF-related hospitalization was $14,631. The mean per-patient cost of a cardiovascular (CV)-related or all-cause hospitalization was $16,000 and $15,924, respectively. The cumulative rate of all-cause hospitalization was 218.8 admissions per 100 person-years, and the median length of stay for HF-related, CV-related, and all-cause hospitalizations was 5 days. Also, 22.3% of patients were readmitted within 30 days, 33.3% were readmitted within 60 days, and 40.2% were readmitted within 90 days.ConclusionThe costs associated with hospitalization for Medicare beneficiaries with HF are substantial and are compounded by a high rate of readmission.

Connected Health Apps and Devices: Implications for Healthcare Delivery

“…This chronic condition consumes signi icant healthcare resources and is associated with repeated ER visits and hospitalizations, and high rates of readmission. In the United States, CHF is one of the Medicare readmission penalty diseases; the average cost of a single hospitalization for a Medicare recipient is $14,631, with a median length-of-stay of ive days [20]. Data demonstrate that 40.2% of Medicare patients with CHF are readmitted within 90 days of a prior hospital discharge [20].…”

Wedged Sensor in Distress? Lessons Learned from Troubleshooting Dampened Transmitted PA Waveforms of CardioMEMS Device

“…Heart failure constitutes a large portion of this spectrum with close to 6 million adults affected in the US [1]. That number is expected to increase over the next 15 years with CVD-related costs projected to reach up to $1.1 trillion, a large portion of which can be attributed to heart failure (HF) rehospitalizations [2]. Clinical trials have shown that HF patients have 90-day readmission rates of nearly 41% with a mean per-patient expense of $16,000 [2].…”

“…That number is expected to increase over the next 15 years with CVD-related costs projected to reach up to $1.1 trillion, a large portion of which can be attributed to heart failure (HF) rehospitalizations [2]. Clinical trials have shown that HF patients have 90-day readmission rates of nearly 41% with a mean per-patient expense of $16,000 [2]. Further, the average lifetime expense of each HF patient is roughly $83,980, 80% of which is thought to be accumulated during these hospitalizations [2].…”

Hospitalized patients with heart failure: the impact of anxiety, fatigue, and therapy adherence on quality of life

“…HF implies a substantial burden not only for patients and but also for healthcare systems in developed countries [7]. HF is the most common reason for hospital admission in patients above 65 years old [8]. For instance, in the USA the number of HF hospitalizations tripled from 1.27 to 3.86 million between 1979 and 2004 [9,10].…”