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Beyond Pain: How much does arthritis really cost?
Arthritis and related conditions affect 70 million Americans and limit the daily activities of seven million of them. Left untreated, arthritis can lead to disability, which can rob people of their quality of life and can weaken our nation's economic health.
Total Cost
- The cost of disability caused by muscloskeletal conditions such as arthritis was as high as $149.4 billion a year,,(or 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product) according to a 1995 study by University of California researchers.
- Muscloskeletal conditions are responsible for 315 million visits to the doctor, eight million hospitalizations and 1.5 billion days of restricted activity.
- Arthritis and related conditions cost the nation's economy $124. 8 billion a year ($42.6 billion in direct medical costs and $82.2 billion in indirect costs), according to a report issued by the Arthritis Foundation in 2003. (www.arthritis.org)
- Arthritis and related conditions are responsible for 750,000 hospitalizations a year and 36 million ambulatory visits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Arthritis and related conditions cause limitations in 16 million people and 9,500 deaths a year. (CDC)
Osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis account for a large chunk of these health-care expenditures.
Osteoporosis
- Fractures caused by osteoporosis cost $13.8 billion a year. Experts estimate that the number of hip fractures is expected to triple by 2040, according to a 1999 report published in the Arthritis Care & Research journal.
Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)
- The projected annual direct cost for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is $3.6 billion, according to a 2000 report published in the journal Value in Health. RA is responsible for up to 250,000 hospitalizations a year, according to the American College of Rheumatology.
Osteoarthritis (OA)
- The Arthritis Foundation estimates that OA results in more than seven million physician visits annually. OA adds between $1,963 and $2,827 annually in costs per patient.
Impact on the Health-care Infrastructure
- Although arthritis is not exclusively an old person's disease, its incidence rises with age. As more people live longer, they will develop more chronic conditions, including arthritis that will necessitate expensive treatment.
- By 2030, people over the age 65 will be 71 million, or 20 percent of the population. The aging population will put an additional financial strain on the health-care system. (CDC)
- In 2002, 40 million people were enrolled in Medicare. This number will increase to 76.8 million by 2030. (CMS)
- The number of people over 65 who have arthritis will double by 2030, from 15.7 million to 33.3 million (CDC)
- Medicare (health coverage for those over 65) spending alone in 2004 was $296.7 billion.
- By 2030, healthcare spending will grow by 25 percent as a result of the aging population (CDC and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), reaching $8.1 trillion over the next 70 years. (General Accounting Office)
Impact on the Individual
- Beyond national economy, the growing health-care cost associated with disability will be hit individuals' checkbooks directly. For example, health insurance premiums increased by 54 percent from 2001 to 2002.
- Out-of-pocket cost jumped by 45 percent for the same period, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The impact will be even greater for those without health insurance.
- Health-care cost also grows when the health care system focuses on treatment rather than prevention. Prevention and early treatment of arthritis and related conditions costs less than tackling arthritis when it's taken a toll on the body and caused a more-expensive-to-treat disability.
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