NJ Spotlight published the following article on September 12, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
INTERACTIVE MAP: CHARTING THE COST OF HOSPITAL CARE IN NEW JERSEY
Analysis of federal data shows NJ hospital stays are slightly longer than national average, and slightly more expensive
The average New Jerseyan’s hospital stay lasts nearly five days and costs almost $11,000, both more than the national average, federal data shows.
Residents spent some 5.4 million days in the hospital in 2011, the most recent year for which data is available, as part of 1.1 million stays, according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. That averaged 4.8 days per stay, slightly higher than the national average of 4.5 days.
Similarly, the average cost per hospital stay in the state was also higher than the national average — $10,685 here, compared with $10,109 nationwide. The aggregate cost — an estimate of the actual value of services and medical supplies, rather than the amount charged, which is typically higher — for all stays in New Jersey was a staggering $11.9 billion.
The cost varied widely based on age and type of insurance, generally coinciding with the length of the typical hospital stay. Senior citizens had the longest average stay — 5.7 days — and the highest average cost — $13,350. The mean hospital cost for Medicare beneficiaries was $13,205, for an average 5.8 days.
Costs also differed by county, though the reason why isn’t completely clear.