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Hospitalization charges for children with birth defects in Texas, 2001 to 2010
Karen B Moffitt1, Amy P Case1, Noha H Farag2
1Texas Department of State Health Services, Birth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Austin, Texas.
Insights
Hospitalizations for pediatric birth defects in Texas incurred $24.8 billion in charges, significantly exceeding those for other childhood conditions. Costs varied by diagnosis, payer, and year.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health Outcomes
- Healthcare Economics
- Public Health Surveillance
Background:
- Understanding state-specific hospitalization data for children with birth defects is crucial for healthcare policy.
- Analysis of hospital charges and length of stay provides insights into the economic burden of these conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends in hospitalizations, charges, and length of stay for children with birth defects in Texas.
- To compare healthcare utilization and costs for children with and without birth defects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Texas Hospital Inpatient Discharge Public Use Data File (2001-2010).
- Compared total charges and length of stay for children with and without birth defect diagnosis codes.
- Examined trends in total charges by expected payer type.
Main Results:
- Over 431,000 hospitalizations for birth defects, totaling $24.8 billion in charges.
- Children with birth defects had over double the mean hospital stay and six times greater mean charges.
- Pyloric stenosis and cardiac defects were leading causes; hospitalizations increased by 273.7%.
Conclusions:
- Hospitalizations for pediatric birth defects represent a substantial financial burden, exceeding other pediatric admissions.
- Costs are influenced by specific diagnoses, expected payer, and treatment year.
- Medicaid was the expected payer for 56.5-62.0% of charges (2004-2010).
Background:
State-specific information about hospitalizations of children with birth defects can improve understanding of changes in occurrence, treatment practices, and health care financing policies. This study analyzed aggregated data on hospital charges and length of stay for a large, diverse population.
Methods:
We extracted hospitalization data for children diagnosed with birth defects from the Texas Hospital Inpatient Discharge Public Use Data File (2001-2010). Analyses compared total charges and length of stay for children with and without a diagnosis code of any birth defect among 45 standard categories. We also examined trends for total charges by expected payer type.
Results:
In Texas, 431,296 hospital stays were reported for children with birth defects, with total charges of $24.8 billion. Mean hospital stay for children with birth defects was more than twice that of those without, whereas mean of hospital total charges was approximately six times greater. Pyloric stenosis accounted for the largest number of hospitalizations, followed by certain cardiac defects. Pediatric hospitalizations for birth defects increased 273.7%, compared with a 214.7% increase overall. The percentage of charges with Medicaid as expected payer (2004-2010) ranged from 56.5 to 62.0%.
Conclusion:
Charges associated with these conditions are far greater than those associated with pediatric hospitalizations for other causes, whether in the newborn period or beyond. However, these charges vary depending on specific diagnoses, expected payer source, and year of treatment.
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