Health Affairs, 28, no. 4 (2009): w751-w760 (Published online 9 July 2009) doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.4.w751 © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   Senate Health Reform Bill   Rewarding Providers   Public Option Policy Brief   Health Reform & Abortion   Delivery System Reform

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Effects Of Childhood Obesity On Hospital Care And Costs, 1999–2005

Childhood obesity is increasingly recognized as an epidemic, but the economic consequences have not been well quantified. We evaluated trends in obesity-associated hospitalizations, charges, and costs using 1999–2005 data from a nationally representative sample of admissions to U.S. hospitals. We detected a near-doubling in hospitalizations with a diagnosis of obesity between 1999 and 2005 and an increase in costs from $125.9 million to 237.6 million (in 2005 dollars) between 2001 and 2005. Medicaid appears to bear a large burden of hospitalizations for conditions that occur along with obesity, while private payers pay a greater portion of hospitalization costs to treat obesity itself.

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