Health Affairs

Health Affairs, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.w822 (Published online July 27, 2009) © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

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Annual Medical Spending Attributable To Obesity: Payer- And Service-Specific Estimates

Eric A. Finkelstein ^1*, Justin G. Trogdon ², Joel W. Cohen ³, William Dietz ⁴

¹ Eric Finkelstein is director of the Public Health Economics Program at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
² Justin Trogdon is a research economist at the Public Health Economics Program at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
³ Joel Cohen is director of the Division of Social and Economic Research, Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in Rockville, Maryland.
⁴ William Dietz is director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

In 1998 the medical costs of obesity were estimated to be as high as $78.5 billion, with roughly half financed by Medicare and Medicaid. This analysis presents updated estimates of the costs of obesity for the United States across payers (Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers), in separate categories for inpatient, non-inpatient, and prescription drug spending. We found that the increased prevalence of obesity is responsible for almost $40 billion of increased medical spending through 2006, including $7 billion in Medicare prescription drug costs. We estimate that the medical costs of obesity could have risen to $147 billion per year by 2008. [Health Affairs 28, no. 5 (2009): w822-w831 (published online 27 July 2009; 10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.w822)]

Key Words: Chronic Care, Consumer Issues, Health Promotion/Disease Prevention, Health Spending

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