Report estimates costs of birth defect-associated hospitalizations

The total estimated cost of birth defect-associated hospitalizations was $22.2 billion in the United States in 2019, according to research published in the July 7 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Justin Swanson, M.P.H., from the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and colleagues estimated the service delivery costs of hospitalizations among patients younger than 65 years for whom one or more birth defects were documented as discharge diagnoses using the 2019 National Inpatient Sample.

The researchers found that the estimated cost of the 937,295 birth defect-associated hospitalizations incurred during 2019 was $22.2 billion in the United States. Disproportionately high costs were borne by birth defect-associated hospitalizations, comprising 4.1 percent of all hospitalizations among persons aged younger than 65 years and accounting for 7.7 percent of related inpatient medical costs.

"Updated estimates of hospitalization costs for specific birth defects provide critical information about health care resource use," the authors write. "These data highlight the financial impact across the life span and illustrate the need to understand the continued health care needs of persons born with birth defects to ensure optimal health for all."