Variation and Drivers of Costs for Emergency Department Visits Among Children in 8 States.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To describe variation in costs for emergency department (ED) visits among children and to assess hospital and regional factors associated with costs.

Methods

Cross-sectional study of all ED encounters among children under 18 years in 8 states from 2014 to 2018. The primary outcome was each hospital's mean inflation-adjusted ED costs. We evaluated variability in costs between hospitals and determined factors associated with costs using hierarchical linear models at the state, region, and hospital levels. Models adjusted for pediatric case mix, regional wages, Medicaid share, trauma status, critical access status, ownership, and market competitiveness.

Results

We analyzed 22.9 million ED encounters across 713 hospitals. The median ED-level cost was $269 (range

SUBMITTER: Freiman EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11015896 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature