Table 2.
Health Care Utilization and Expenditures among Children with Complex Chronic Conditions at End of Life by Age Group
| Health care services | All children (n=1423) | Under 1 year (n=133) | 1–5 years (n=463) | 6–14 years (n=412) | 15–20 years (n=415) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital inpatient care | ||||||
| Used services (%) | 66.55 | 76.69 | 74.51 | 58.50 | 62.41 | 0.001 |
| Avg. monthly expenditures | $10,753 | $15,630 | $13,545 | $8,436 | $8,374 | 0.001 |
| Prescription drugs | ||||||
| Used services (%) | 65.21 | 45.11 | 63.28 | 74.03 | 65.06 | 0.001 |
| Avg. monthly expenditures | $498 | $47 | $471 | $631 | $539 | 0.001 |
| Hospice/Home health care | ||||||
| Used services (%) | 25.58 | 23.31 | 28.29 | 27.67 | 21.20 | 0.064 |
| Avg. monthly expenditures | $466 | $175 | $337 | $727 | $444 | 0.001 |
| Primary carea | ||||||
| Used services (%) | 82.29 | 93.23 | 87.26 | 79.61 | 75.90 | 0.001 |
| Avg. monthly expenditures | $874 | $1,472 | $1,017 | $683 | $711 | 0.001 |
| Other acute careb | ||||||
| Used services (%) | 83.13 | 81.20 | 85.53 | 87.62 | 76.63 | 0.001 |
| Avg. monthly expenditures | $803 | $1,327 | $884 | $828 | $519 | 0.001 |
| Ancillary carec | ||||||
| Used services (%) | 87.42 | 84.96 | 86.83 | 90.05 | 86.27 | 0.265 |
| Avg. monthly expenditures | $751 | $297 | $569 | $927 | $923 | 0.001 |
a
Primary care included physician, dental, clinic, and other practitioners (chiropractors, podiatrists, psychologists, and optometrists).
b
Other acute care included targeted case management, rehabilitation, private duty nursing, residential, psychiatric, therapy, and outpatient hospital.
c
Ancillary care included transportation, equipment, lab/X-ray, personal care, and other services (prosthetics and eyeglasses).