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Patterns of childhood medical spending
T R Miller1, D C Lestina, M S Galbraith
1National Public Services Research Institute, Landover, MD, USA.
Insights
Childhood medical spending reached $86 billion annually, with significant costs for live birth, pregnancy, and injuries. Preventive measures can reduce spending in these key areas.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Childhood medical expenditures represent a substantial portion of national healthcare spending.
- Understanding the distribution of costs across diagnostic categories is crucial for resource allocation.
- Previous analyses have not comprehensively detailed medical spending patterns for children aged 0-21 years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify annual medical spending for children aged 0 to 21 years in the United States.
- To identify the primary diagnostic categories contributing to childhood medical costs.
- To inform the development of targeted preventive strategies for reducing pediatric healthcare expenditures.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) covering 1991-1993.
- Expenditures were adjusted to December 1993 dollars using a medical spending per capita price index.
- Data focused on 14 diagnostic categories, excluding nursing home and dental care.
Main Results:
- Total annual medical spending for children (0-21 years) was $86 billion, constituting 15% of all US medical spending.
- Leading cost categories included live birth/pregnancy ($19 billion), injury ($12 billion), and respiratory conditions ($10 billion).
- Live birth/pregnancy dominated inpatient costs, injuries led emergency department spending, and respiratory conditions accounted for 25% of prescription costs.
Conclusions:
- Preventive measures hold potential for reducing childhood medical spending, particularly in the top three cost categories.
- Prevention strategies should be tailored, as priorities for intervention vary across different age groups within childhood.
- Data-driven insights into pediatric healthcare spending can guide effective public health interventions and resource allocation.
Objective:
To provide data on childhood medical spending.
Methods:
This article is based on data released in 1991 through 1993 from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey. The data were analyzed for 14 diagnostic categories. They excluded spending on nursing home and dental care. We inflated the National Medical Expenditure Survey expenditures to December 1993 dollars by means of annual medical spending per capita as a price index.
Results:
Medical spending on children aged 0 to 21 years totaled $86 billion per year, 15% of all US medical care spending. The largest source of child medical spending was on live birth and pregnancy, at $19 billion, followed by injury, at $12 billion, and respiratory conditions, at $10 billion. Live birth and pregnancy were the largest contributor of hospital inpatient spending for children 0 to 21 years old. Injury accounted for more than half of the spending in emergency departments. One quarter of prescription spending was the result of respiratory conditions.
Conclusions:
Childhood medical spending for the three largest categories can be reduced through proved preventive measures. These analyses also show that prevention priorities differ by age group.