Profile of the Financial Burden of High Cost Illness

摘要

Financially catastrophic hospitalization episodes were examined in this study using data from all 54 Maryland hospitals. A parallel set of analyses is based on discharges from the 167 CPHA hospitals that participated in the Study of Patient Charges, an extension of the Professional Activity Study (PAS). Policy implications of findings are discussed, including the disproportionate share of catastrophic charges paid by Medicare (for the elderly) and by Medicaid (for the newborn).