Hospital costs for cocaine-exposed infants

A retrospective study was done at University Medical Center at Jacksonville for the period November 1988 through October 1989 to estimate the cost of treatment for 207 infants from cocaine-exposed pregnancies, 151 (76%) black and 56 (24%) white. The mean age of the mothers was 26. Twenty-five (12%) infants were admitted into the neonatal intensive care nursery (NICU) and 82 (88%) into the normal nursery where 45% of total days was due to "social hold" pending clearance for discharge by the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Average stay was 21.5 days in the NICU and 6.7 days in the normal nursery. Average costs varied from $36,481 for NICU to $801 for normal nursery in excess of the usual charge for a normal full-term infant. Laboratory fees accounted for the largest percentage (41.5%) of the total cost of hospitalization in the NICU, while rooming charges are the major factor (50.8%) in the normal nursery. Total charges in the 12-month period amounted to $1,057,921 or $5,110 per patient and for a control group $520,251 or $2,513 per patient. A major concern above the cost of treatment is the special education needs when these children enter the school system.