Cost for Mental Health & Substance Abuse Hospital Stays

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Included in the September 2011 edition of HealthLeaders magazine is some information on hospital costs for mental health and substance abuse (MHSA)  issues.  Here are some interesting statistics:

“Over the past decade, the average length of stay for MHSA diagnosis has dropped about 10%, but the number of discharges with a principal MHSA diagnosis has increased about 14%.”

Average Cost of a Hospital Stay

Schizophrenia/other psychotic disorders……………………….$7,500

Attention-deficit/conduct/disruptive behavior disorders…$7,200

Bipolar Disorders…………………………………………………………….$5,600

Alcohol-related disorders………………………………………………..$5,000

Drug-related disorders……………………………………………………$4,900

Depression……………………………………………………………………..$4,700

Anxiety disorders……………………………………………………………$4,500

Pregnancy-related MH disorders…………………………………….$3,500

Adjustment disorders…………………………………………………….$2,800

(Source: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HCUP Facts and Figures, 2008, exhibit 5.10.  Costs reflect all costs associated with stay, not solely those associated with the principal diagnosis.)

~At Matthews Law Firm, P.A., we practice health law~