TABLE 3.
Unadjusted total medical costs for surgical and non‐surgical groups by follow‐up period.
| Total medical expenditure a | ||
|---|---|---|
| Surgery, mean (sd) | Non‐surgery, mean (sd) | |
| Operative | $28,580 (27,538) | $66 (1612) |
| Post 30‐day | $2321 (15,501) | $1133 (8038) |
| Year 1 | $13,124 ($28,015) | $13,275 ($29,676) |
| Year 2 | $12,494 ($28,028) | $13,312 ($31,474) |
| Year 3 | $12,513 ($28,430) | $13,610 ($32,319) |
| Year 4 | $12,629 ($28,949) | $14,479 ($33,939) |
| Year 5 | $12,513 ($28,430) | $13,610 ($32,319) |
| Year 6 | $12,982 ($29,797) | $15,608 ($35,804) |
| Year 7 | $13,394 ($31,011) | $15,489 ($34,665) |
| Year 8 | $13,688 ($31,562) | $15,639 ($34,844) |
| Year 9 | $13,114 ($30,247) | $16,042 ($36,156) |
| Year 10 | $13,761 ($32,830) | $16,226 ($34,675) |
a
Among members with at least 1 day of medical eligibility in a given year. Total medical cost includes sum of inpatient, emergency and outpatient costs. High costs were capped at $250,000 to avoid results that were skewed by outlier cases. Costs were inflation‐adjusted to their 2019 value and annualized to account for partial year plan enrollments.