Table 4.
Factors Associated with Hospital Cost for Patients with Advanced Liver Disease During a Terminal Hospitalization
| Independent Variable | Cost Associated with Each Predictor ($), (CI) |
|---|---|
| Palliative Care Consultation | −8,892 (−11,595, −6,189)* |
| Female | 1,703 (−539, 3,944) |
| Race | |
| Caucasian | Reference |
| African American | 3,683 (−167, 7,532) |
| Hispanic | 3,870 (−347, 8,088) |
| Asian | 5,954 (−3,037, 14,946) |
| Native American | −6,381 (−14,042, 1,280) |
| Other | 53 (5,288, 5,335) |
| Insurance Status | |
| Medicare (%) | Reference |
| Medicaid (%) | −2,179 (−5,485, 1,128) |
| Private (%) | 108 (−3,255, 3,471) |
| Self-pay (%) | −11,775 (−15,717, −7,833)* |
| No charge (%) | −19,234 (−26,780, −11,688)* |
| Other (%) | −9,169 (−14,515, −3,825)* |
| Age | −433 (−547, −319)* |
| Annual Household Income | |
| 0-25th Percentile | Reference |
| 25th-50th Percentile | 2,369 (−217, 4,956) |
| 50-75th Percentile | 4,868 (1,691, 8,045)* |
| 75th-100th Percentile | 12,440 (8,454, 16,427)* |
| Charlson comorbidity index | −803 (−1,214, −392)* |
| Hepatocellular Carcinoma (%) | −11,374 (−15,634, −7,113)* |
| Awaiting or Received Liver Transplant (%) | 105,906 (77,921, 133,892)* |
| Hospital bed size | |
| Small | Reference |
| Medium | 4,775 (−227, 9,777) |
| Large | 11,250 (6,738, 15,762)* |
| Hospital ownership | |
| Government | Reference |
| Private, non-profit | −6,819 (−12,450, −1,188)* |
| Private, for-profit | −11,253 (−16,640, −5,865)* |
| Hospital teaching status | |
| Urban, non-teaching | Reference |
| Rural | −5,776 (,−9,331, −2,219)* |
| Urban, teaching | 16,808 (13,422, 20,194)* |
| Hospital region | |
| Northeast | Reference |
| Midwest | 7,994 (2,263, 13,724)* |
| South | 2,203 (−2,605, 7,012) |
| West | 21,442 (15,239, 27,645)* |
| Year | |
| 2009 | Reference |
| 2010 | 1,375 (−3,082, 5,831) |
| 2011 | 3,075 (−2,472, 8,622) |
| 2012 | 3,243 (−1,417, 7,903) |
*
denotes result is significant for α<0.05.