AHRQ Stats

New data nuggets from AHRQ News Now posted weekly to highlight AHRQ statistical reports on health care trends.

Increased Medicaid Hospitalizations
From 2000 to 2015, the share of hospitalizations with Medicaid as primary payer grew 74 percent for patients ages 18 to 44 and 68 percent for those ages 45 to 64. Those rates do not include hospitalizations for pregnancies or newborns. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #235: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays by Age and Payer, 2000-2015.)

Declining Hospitalizations Among Emergency Department Patients
Hospital admissions declined between 2006 and 2015 among people seeking care at emergency departments. The biggest decline—27 percent—was among patients under age 18. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #238, Trends in Hospital Emergency Department Visits by Age and Payer, 2006–2015.)

Decreasing Pressure Ulcers Among Hospital Patients
The average rate of hospital-associated pressure ulcers fell 23 percent from 2011 to 2014. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #237: Patient Safety and Adverse Events, 2011 and 2014.)

Retention of Health Insurance Marketplace Coverage
About 77 percent of people who had Health Insurance Marketplace coverage in December 2014 retained their coverage in December 2015. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #510, Transitions in Health Insurance Status: Longitudinal Data from the MEPS-Household Component, 2013–2015.)

Declining In-Hospital Hip Fractures
The average hospital rate of in-hospital hip fractures due to falls decreased 74 percent from 2011 to 2014. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #237: Patient Safety and Adverse Events, 2011 and 2014.)

Increased Hospital Stays for Kidney Failure
While the overall rate of hospital stays for acute kidney failure increased 66 percent nationwide between 2005 and 2014, the increase was higher for low-income people (86 percent) and patients ages 45 to 64 (79 percent). (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #231: Acute Renal Failure Hospitalizations, 2005–2014.)

Demographics of Veterans
Veterans treated at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities in 2014-15 were more likely to be age 65 or older, black, lower income and in poorer health compared with veterans who received treatment at non-VA facilities only. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #508: Characteristics and Health Care Expenditures of VA Health System Users versus Other Veterans, 2014–2015 (Combined).)

Surgical Hospital Stays
While hospitalizations involving surgery accounted for 29 percent of hospital stays in 2014, those stays represented 48 percent of the $386.2 billion in total hospital costs that year. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #233: Overview of Operating Room Procedures During Inpatient Stays in U.S. Hospitals, 2014.)

Household Expenses for Health Care
Among families with no elderly members, out-of-pocket expenses for health care averaged $451 in 2015. These expenses increased with family income, however. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #507: Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenses for Non-Elderly Families by Income and Family Structure, 2015.)

Hospital Stays Involving Surgery
The number of hospitalizations involving operating room procedures decreased from 11.1 million in 2011 to 10.1 million in 2014. Total costs for those hospitalizations, however, increased from about $185 billion to $187 billion. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #233: Overview of Operating Room Procedures During Inpatient Stays in U.S. Hospitals, 2014, and Statistical Brief #170: Characteristics of Operating Room Procedures in U.S. Hospitals, 2011.)

Pressure Ulcer Rates of Hospital Patients
About 1.2 million cases of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers occurred in 2015. That reflected a rate of about 36 per 1,000 discharges, a decrease over the 2010 rate of 40 per 1,000 discharges. (Source: 2017 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, Chartbook on Patient Safety.)

Family Expenses for Health Care
About 14 percent of families had out-of-pocket health care expenses exceeding $2,500 in 2015. This level of expense occurred in 4 percent of poor families and 22 percent of high-income families. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #507: Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenses for Non-Elderly Families by Income and Family Structure, 2015.)

Veterans' Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses
Out-of-pocket medical expenses accounted for 7 percent of total expenses for veterans who used Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities in 2014-15. That compared with 15 percent for veterans treated at non-VA facilities only. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #508: Characteristics and Health Care Expenditures of VA Health System Users versus Other Veterans, 2014-2015 (Combined))

Private Insurance vs. Medicaid for Hospital Payments
Medicaid was the primary payer for 54 percent of hospitalizations for patients younger than 18 (excluding hospitalizations for pregnancies and newborns) in 2015. That represented a sizeable increase from 2000, when Medicaid paid for 39 percent of hospitalizations in that category. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #235: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays by Age and Payer, 2000-2015.)

Decline in Hospitalizations
While the rate of hospitalizations (excluding pregnancies and newborns) declined for all age groups from 2000 to 2015, the biggest drop—25 percent—occurred among patients 65 and older. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #235: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays by Age and Payer, 2000–2015.)

Atrial Fibrillation Hospitalization Rate Rises for Americans Under 65
Hospital stays involving atrial fibrillation increased more than 50 percent for Americans age 18 to 64 from 1998 to 2014. Rates have stabilized in recent years for those age 65 and older. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #236: Inpatient Stays Involving Atrial Fibrillation, 1998–2014.)

Increased Suicide Rates in Rural Areas
From 1999 to 2015, suicide rates among American Indians and Alaska Natives in nonmetropolitan areas increased from about 21 to 34 per 100,000 people. Rates also increased among whites, from 17 to 25 per 100,000, and among blacks, from 7 to 8 per 100,000. (Source: AHRQ 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, Chartbook on Rural Health Care.)

'Baby Boomer' Hospital Stays Involving Hepatitis C
Hospital stays involving hepatitis C increased the most—67 percent—among "Baby Boomers" (ages 52–72) between 2005 and 2014. During the same period, hospital stays involving hepatitis C decreased 15 percent among patients ages 18 to 51. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #232: Characteristics of Inpatient Stays Involving Hepatitis C, 2005-2014.)

Trends in Dental Expenses
The average annual expense for dental care was $696 in 2015. That compares with $374 ($564 when adjusted for inflation) in 1996. (Source: AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Research Findings #38: Dental Services: Use, Expenses, Source of Payment, Coverage and Procedure Type, 1996-2015.)

Cost of Hospital Stays for Kidney Failure 
The cost for a hospital stay in 2014 involving acute kidney failure averaged $19,200, nearly twice the $9,900 average cost for stays not involving kidney failure. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #231: Acute Renal Failure Hospitalizations, 2005-2014.)

Increased Hospital Stays for Hepatitis C 
Hospital stays solely to treat hepatitis C increased 49 percent from 2005 to 2014. During the same period, hospital stays to treat hepatitis C in patients with other conditions such as hepatitis B or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) increased by 11 percent. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #232: Characteristics of Inpatient Stays Involving Hepatitis C, 2005-2014.)

Payments Vary for Public, Private Physician Office Visits
Medicaid payments to physicians for office visits in 2014-15 averaged 62 percent of payments made to physicians by employer-sponsored insurance. (Source: Public and Private Payments For Physician Office Visits, Health Aff 2017 Dec;36(12):2160-2164.)

Highest Hospital Readmission Rates by Payer
Thirty-day all-cause hospital readmission rates in 2014 were highest among patients covered by Medicare (17 percent), followed by those with Medicaid (14 percent), no insurance (12 percent) and private insurance (9 percent). (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #230: A Comparison of All-Cause 7-Day and 30-Day Readmissions, 2014.)

Highest Hospital Readmission Rates
Thirty-day all-cause hospital readmission rates in 2014 were highest for patients with congestive heart failure (23.2 per 100 admissions), schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders (22.9), and respiratory failure (21.6). (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #230: A Comparison of All-Cause 7-Day and 30-Day Readmissions, 2014.)

Schizophrenia's Role in Hospital Admissions
Schizophrenia was the principal diagnosis in more than half of African Americans who were homeless and admitted to hospitals through emergency departments for mental or substance use disorders in 2014. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #229: Characteristics of Homeless Individuals Using Emergency Department Services in 2014.)

Trends in Payments for Emergency Department Care
From 2006 to 2014, the number of emergency department (ED) visits covered by Medicaid increased by 66 percent while the number covered by Medicare rose by 29 percent. ED visits covered by private insurance, meanwhile, decreased by 10 percent. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #227: Trends in Emergency Department Visits, 2006–2014.)

Trends in Emergency Department Visits
Emergency department (ED) visits increased 15 percent from 2006 to 2014. During that time, ED visits for injuries decreased by 13 percent while ED visits for mental health/substance abuse increased by 44 percent. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #227: Trends in Emergency Department Visits, 2006–2014.)

Insurance Payments for Child Orthopedic Visits
The average payment for a child's visit to an orthopedist when covered by private insurance was $423 in 2014-2015, compared with $162 when covered by Medicaid. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #504: Differences in Payments for Child Visits to Office-Based Physicians: Private versus Medicaid Insurance, 2010 to 2015.)

Differences in Insurance Payments for Child Visits to Physicians
In 2015, payments for child visits to a physician's office averaged $88 higher when covered by private insurance compared with visits covered by Medicaid. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #504: Differences in Payments for Child Visits to Office-Based Physicians: Private versus Medicaid Insurance, 2010 to 2015.)

Medication Errors Among Seniors
The percentage of adults age 65 and older who received potentially inappropriate prescription medications declined from 19 percent in 2003 to 12 percent in 2014. (Source: 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, Chartbook on Patient Safety.)

Hospital-Acquired Conditions
The overall rate of hospital-acquired conditions, such as pressure ulcers or adverse drug events, decreased 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, from 145 to 115 per 1,000 hospital discharges. (Source: 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparity Report, Chartbook on Patient Safety.)

Insurance Trends Among Hispanics, Blacks
The uninsured rate among Hispanics declined from 42 percent in 2010 to 26 percent in 2016. The uninsured rate for blacks during the same period declined from 28 percent to 15 percent. (Source: 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report.)

Disparities in Patient Safety
In 2013-2014, blacks and Hispanics received worse health care than whites in more than 20 percent of patient safety measures. Meanwhile, Asians received worse care than whites for 35 percent of such measures. (Source: 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, Chartbook on Patient Safety.)

Decreasing Uninsurance
From 2010 to 2016, the overall rate of uninsured people under age 65 decreased from 18 percent to 11 percent. (Source: 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report.)

Health Care Coverage for Young Adults
Young adults ages 18 to 29 made up the largest percentage of people gaining health care coverage from 2010 to 2016. The uninsured rate for this group declined by more than half, from 31 percent to 15 percent. (Source: 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report.)

Coverage for Patients With Chronic Conditions
About 15 percent of Americans under 65 with no chronic conditions lacked health insurance throughout 2015, down from about 23 percent in 2013. The trend was similar among nonelderly adults with at least one chronic condition, whose uninsurance rate dropped to about 9 percent in 2015 from 16 percent in 2013. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Research Findings #36: Uninsurance and Insurance Transitions, 2012-2013 through 2014-2015: Estimates for U.S., Non-Elderly Adults by Health Status, Presence of Chronic Conditions, and State Medicaid Expansion Status.)

Opioid-Related Hospital Stays Increase in Small Metro Areas
Opioid-related hospital stays more than doubled nationwide between 2005 and 2014 in small metropolitan areas (counties with 50,000 to 249,000 people). (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #226: Patient Residence Characteristics of Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits Nationally and by State, 2014.)

Cost Trends for Hospital Stays
From 2005 to 2014, the average inflation-adjusted cost of a hospital stay increased approximately 13 percent, from $9,500 to $10,900. Average costs for stays covered by Medicaid and private insurance increased 16 to 18 percent. Costs rose 8 percent for Medicare stays and 7 percent for uninsured stays. (AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #225: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014.)

Insurance Coverage for Hospital Stays
From 2005 to 2014, the number of Medicaid-insured hospital stays increased nearly 16 percent, while privately insured and uninsured hospital stays both decreased nearly 13 percent. Medicare-insured stays remained essentially unchanged. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #225: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014.)

Hospital Stays Decline for Coronary Atherosclerosis
Hospital stays for coronary atherosclerosis decreased from more than 1 million in 2005 to fewer than 400,000 in 2014, a decline of more than 60 percent. (Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #225: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014.)

Hospital Care for Mental Health/Substance Use
The proportion of hospital stays for mental health/substance use increased by 20 percent from 2005 to 2014, representing nearly 6 percent of all hospital stays by 2014. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #225: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014.)

Hospital Care for Septicemia
Hospital stays for septicemia (blood infection) nearly tripled between 2005 and 2014 and exceeded more than 1.5 million stays by 2014. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #225: Trends in Hospital Inpatient Stays in the United States, 2005-2014.)

Declines in Employer-Sponsored Insurance
Enrollment rates for employer-sponsored insurance fell 7.1 percentage points from 2008 to 2015 in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The decline was 4.5 percentage points in non-expansion states. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #499, Trends in Enrollment, Offers, Eligibility and Take-Up for Employer-Sponsored Insurance: Private Sector, by State Medicaid Expansion Status, 2008-2015.)

Outpatient Appendectomies
Of nearly 448,000 appendectomies in 2014, about 47 percent were performed as outpatient procedures. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #223, Surgeries in Hospital-Based Ambulatory Surgery and Hospital Inpatient Settings, 2014.)

Hospital Stays for Older HIV Patients
Although hospital stays for patients diagnosed with HIV fell 49 percent from 2006 to 2013, stays among older HIV patients increased—by 27 percent for patients between 55 and 64, and by 57 percent for patients 65 and older. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #206: HIV Hospital Stays in the United States, 2006‑2013.)

Outpatient Cardiac Surgeries
In 2014, 53 percent of hospital-based surgeries involving the insertion, revision, replacement or removal of a cardiac pacemaker or cardioverter/defibrillator were performed in an outpatient setting. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #223, Surgeries in Hospital-Based Ambulatory Surgery and Hospital Inpatient Settings, 2014.)

Highest Average Expenses for Common Conditions
For the nine most commonly treated conditions among U.S. adults in 2013, the highest average expenses per person were for the treatment of heart conditions ($3,794 per person), trauma-related disorders ($3,070) and diabetes ($2,565). (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #487: Expenditures for Commonly Treated Conditions among Adults Age 18 and Older in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2013.

Patterns in Office-Based Medical Care
Among people with a usual doctor's office to visit for medical care in 2015, a majority visited an independent physician practice (55 percent). Others visited a hospital-owned physician network (19 percent) or a nonprofit or government clinic (17 percent). (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #502: Characteristics of Practices Used as Usual Source of Care Providers during 2015 – Results from the MEPS Medical Organizations Survey.)

Hospital Costs for HIV Patients
The overall hospital costs of treating patients with HIV fell by 12 percent between 2006 and 2013, from $3.2 billion to $2.8 billion. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #206: HIV Hospital Stays in the United States, 2006–2013.

Declines in Employer-Sponsored Insurance
The insurance enrollment rate for private-sector employees in states that expanded Medicaid fell by 7.1 percentage points from 2008 to 2015, while the decline was 4.5 percentage points in non-expansion states. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief 499, Trends in Enrollment, Offers, Eligibility and Take-Up for Employer-Sponsored Insurance: Private Sector, by State Medicaid Expansion Status, 2008-2015.)

Substance Abuse-Related Disorders Among Hospitalized HIV Patients
Substance abuse-related disorders among hospitalized HIV patients decreased by 27 percent from 2006 to 2013. (Source: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #206: HIV Hospital Stays in the United States, 2006–2013.)

National Health Care Spending
Of the $1.4 trillion spent on health care in 2013, about 38 percent of spending was for ambulatory care while about 28 percent was for hospital inpatient care and 22 percent was for prescription medicines. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #491: National Health Care Expenses in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, Distributions by Type of Service and Source of Payment, 2013.)

Medical Care for Children
In 2014, approximately 8 percent of U.S. children younger than 18 (about 5.8 million children) were reported as not having a usual source of care. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #501: Children's Usual Source of Care: Insurance, Income, and Racial/Ethnic Disparities, 2004-2014.)

Out-of-Pocket Spending Among Seniors
Among seniors with Medicare and additional public coverage such as Medicaid, inflation-adjusted out-of-pocket payments for medical care decreased from an average of $1,253 in 2000 to $427 in 2014. (Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #500: Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenses for Medical Services, by Insurance Coverage, 2000-2014.)

Decline in Hospital-Acquired Conditions
Improvements in patient safety led to fewer deaths from hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) from 2010 to 2015. Compared with the HAC rate in 2010, more than 37,000 fewer patients died from HACs in 2015. The improvement saved about $8.3 billion in 2015. (Source: National Scorecard on Rates of Hospital-Acquired Conditions 2010 to 2015: Interim Data From National Efforts to Make Health Care Safer.)

Medicare "Super-Utilizer" Patients
"Super-utilizers"—patients who visit an emergency department (ED) four times or more in a year—accounted for 19 percent of ED visits by people on Medicare for urinary tract infections in 2014. (Source: Characteristics of Emergency Department Visits for Super-Utilizers by Payer, 2014.)

Out-of-Pocket Expenses for Chronic Conditions
Among adults with health care expenses in 2014, those treated for multiple chronic conditions had average out-of-pocket expenses that were more than three times as high as expenses for adults with one or no chronic condition ($13,031 versus $3,579). (Source: Out-of-Pocket Expenditures for Adults with Health Care Expenses for Multiple Chronic Conditions, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2014.)

Opioid-Related Emergency Department Care
Opioid-related emergency department visits more than doubled between 2009 and 2014 in three states—Minnesota, Ohio and South Dakota.  (Source: Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visit by State, 2009-2014.)

Insurance for Young Adults
As of mid-2015, young adults ages 18 to 29 were the most likely to gain health insurance coverage since January 2010. The uninsured rate for this group declined from 31 percent to 15 percent. (Source: 2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report and 5th Anniversary Update on the National Quality Strategy.)

Patient-Provider Communication
From 2002 to 2013, the portion of uninsured adults who reported poor communication with health care providers dropped from 19 percent to 14 percent. (Source: 2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Chartbook on Person- and Family-Centered Care.)

End-of-Life Care
In 2014, hospice patients who were age 65 and older reported receiving care consistent with their end-of-life wishes about 95 percent of the time. (Source: 2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Chartbook on Person- and Family-Centered Care.)

Opioid-Related Emergency Department Care
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Ohio and Connecticut were the states with the highest rates of opioid-related emergency department visits in 2014. (Source: Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits by State, 2009-2014.)

Readmissions for Malnutrition
In 2013, the 30-day hospital readmission rate for patients with malnutrition was 23 per 100 initial hospital stays, compared with 15 per 100 for patients without malnutrition. (Source: All-Cause Readmissions Following Hospital Stays for Patients With Malnutrition, 2013.)

MRSA in California
In 2013, 8 percent of patients in California with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) acquired the infection during a hospital stay. (Source: Hospital-, Health Care-, and Community-Acquired MRSA: Estimates From California Hospitals, 2013.)

Treatment of Burn-Related Injuries
Between 1993 and 2013, rates of burn-related hospital stays decreased 35 percent while burn-related emergency department visits declined 17 percent. Infants had the highest rates of burn-related hospital stays and emergency department visits in 2013. (Source: Burn-Related Hospital Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits, 2013.)

Rates of Hysterectomy and Oophorectomy
Hysterectomies performed in ambulatory surgery or inpatient settings without oophorectomy (removal of ovaries) increased nearly 15 percent from 2005 to 2013. During the same period, however, the rate of hysterectomies performed in combination with oophorectomies decreased nearly 30 percent. (Source: Trends in Hysterectomies and Oophorectomies in Hospital Inpatient and Ambulatory Settings, 2005–2013.)