Expenditure on Heart Failure in the United States: The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2009-2018

JACC Heart Fail. 2022 Aug;10(8):571-580. doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2022.05.006. Epub 2022 Jul 6.

Abstract

Background: With rising United States health care expenditure, estimating current spending for patients with heart failure (HF) informs the value of preventative health interventions.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to estimate current health care expenditure growth for patients with HF in the United States.

Methods: The authors pooled MEPS (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey) data from 2009-2018 to calculate total HF-related expenditure across clinical settings in the United States. A 2-part model adjusted for demographics, comorbidities, and year was used to estimate annual mean and incremental expenditures associated with HF.

Results: In the United States, an average of $28,950 (2018 inflation-adjusted dollars) is spent per year for health care-related expenditure for individuals with HF compared with $5,727 for individuals without HF. After adjusting for demographics and comorbidities, a diagnosis of HF was associated with $3,594 in annual incremental expenditure compared with those without HF. HF-related expenditure increased from $26,864 annual per person in 2009-2010 to $32,955 in 2017-2018, representing a 23% rise over 10 years. In comparison, expenditure on myocardial infarction, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cancer grew by 16%, 28%, and 16%, respectively. Most of the cost was related to hospitalization: $12,569 per year. Outpatient office-based care and prescription medications saw the greatest growth in cost over the period, 41% and 24%, respectively. Estimated incremental national expenditure for HF per year was $22.3 billion; total annual expenditure for adults with HF was $179.5 billion.

Conclusions: HF is a costly condition for which expenditure is growing faster than that of other chronic conditions.

Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey; health care economics; health expenditure; heart failure (HF).

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Ambulatory Care
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2*
  • Health Expenditures
  • Heart Failure* / epidemiology
  • Heart Failure* / therapy
  • Hospitalization
  • Humans
  • United States / epidemiology