Trends in complicated newborn hospital stays & costs, 2002-2009: Implications for the future

Abstract

Background: With the steady growth in Medicaid enrollment since the recent recession, concerns have been raised about care for newborns with complications. This paper uses all-payer administrative data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), to examine trends from 2002 through 2009 in complicated newborn hospital stays, and explores the relationship between expected sources of payment and reasons for hospitalizations. Methods: Trends in complicated newborn stays, expected sources of payment, costs, and length of stay were examined. A logistic regression was conducted to explore likely payer source for the most prevalent diagnoses in 2009. Results: Complicated births and hospital discharges within 30 days of birth remained relatively constant between 2002 and 2009, but average costs per discharge increased substantially (p