From 1997 to 2009, the average cost of an inpatient hospital stay rose 43% for nonelderly patients and 34% for elderly patients, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The total cost of inpatient admissions for nonelderly (64 years old and younger) patients was $207.6 billion in 2009, up from an inflation-adjusted $123.3 billion in 1997. Total cost for the elderly (65 years and older) went from $106.1 billion in 1997 to $153.9 billion in 2009, the AHRQ said.
Growth in the cost of care for the elderly "was dampened by a decline in the average length of stay ... as well as by a decrease in the number of stays per population," the report said. The rate of stays among elderly patients dropped from 363 per 1,000 population in 1997 to 342 per 1,000 in 2009, while the average length of stay went from 6.4 days in 1997 to 5.4 days in 2009.
Without these declines, "the aggregate cost of elderly stays would have exceeded that of the nonelderly," the AHRQ noted.
Note: Based on data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality