Highlights: Hospital Admissions That Began in the Emergency Department, 2003

From the HCUP project website, Statistical Brief #1

In 2003, 55 percent of 29.3 million hospitalizations (excluding pregnancy and childbirth) began in the ED.

Relative to the populations in each region, individuals in the Northeast were more likely to enter the hospital through the ED, while individuals in the Western states were less likely.

Government payers, Medicare and Medicaid, bear the greatest burden of hospital admissions through the ED, covering 66 percent of all admissions through the ED.

The mean cost for hospitalizations that began in the ED was $7,400.

The mean costs for hospitalizations that began in the ED were highest in the West ($8,500) compared to all other regions of the country ($7,200 or less).

The mean costs for hospitalizations that began in the ED were greatest for government payers.

The mean cost for uninsured stays that began in the ED was less than the cost of stays billed to Medicare and Medicaid but comparable to stays billed to private insurance.