Estimates of healthcare spending for preterm and low-birthweight infants in a commercially insured population: 2008-2016

J Perinatol. 2020 Jul;40(7):1091-1099. doi: 10.1038/s41372-020-0635-z. Epub 2020 Feb 26.

Abstract

The growth in healthcare spending is an important topic in the United States, and preterm and low-birthweight infants have some of the highest healthcare expenditures of any patient population. We performed a retrospective cohort study of spending in this population using a large, national claims database of commercially insured individuals. A total of 763,566 infants with insurance coverage through Aetna, Inc. for the first 6 months of post-natal life were included, and received approximately $8.4 billion (2016 USD) in healthcare services. Infants with billing codes indicating preterm status (<37 weeks, n = 50,511) incurred medical expenditures of $76,153 on average, while low-birthweight status (<2500 g) was associated with average spending of $114,437. Infants born at 24 weeks gestation (n = 418) had the highest per infant average expenditures of $603,778. Understanding the drivers of variation in costs within gestational age and birthweight bands is an important target for future studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Birth Weight
  • Female
  • Health Expenditures
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant, Premature
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Outcome
  • Pregnancy, Multiple*
  • Premature Birth*
  • Reproductive Techniques, Assisted
  • Retrospective Studies
  • United States