Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 28, no. 5 (2009): w822-w831 (Published online 27 July 2009) doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.w822 © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   July Issue on Reform   Obama Appoints CMS Head   Same Sex, Unequal Access   Patient Bill of Rights   Policy Brief: Medicare 'Doc Fix'

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

Eric A. Finkelstein, Justin G. Trogdon, Joel W. Cohen and William Dietz

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.

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