Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114229

Joann Petrini, PhD, MPH¹, Janis L. Biermann, MS², Lisa Potetz, MPP³, and Thomas Blum, MPA². (1) Perinatal Data Center, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, 1275 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY 10605, 914-997-4515, jpetrini@marchofdimes.com, (2) March of Dimes, 1275 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605, (3) March of Dimes Office of Government Affairs, 1146 19th Street, NW 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036

In addition to the considerable physical and emotional costs associated with the preterm birth, the financial costs are staggering. According to an analysis by the March of Dimes, hospital charges associated with prematurity totaled $15.5 billion in 2002. Almost half of these charges – approximately $7.4 billion were billed to employers or other private health insurers. To further assess the impact of prematurity on US employers, data were analyzed from MedStat's MarketScan database which includes data from privately insured paid medical (including inpatient and physician office visits) and prescription drug claims. Findings indicate that premature babies covered by employer plans spend an average of 16.8 days in the hospital during the 12 months postpartum, compared to 2.3 days for full-term babies. In addition, premature babies make an average of nine visits to the doctor's office during the first year of life, compared to six visits for full-term babies. This time results in direct health care costs to employers for a premature baby that average $41,610 —15 times higher than the $2,830 for a full-term delivery. Further, mothers of premature babies spend an average of 29.1 days on short-term disability during the six months following delivery versus 18.9 days for mothers of full-term babies. In terms of lost productivity and teamwork synergy, the estimated impact may be as much as $2,766 per delivery. The potential role of employers in helping to address the national problem of premature birth through programmatic and public health initiatives will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to

• Understand the extent to which US businesses assume the financial costs associated with prematurity.
• Quantify the financial cost of prematurity to US businesses.
• Identify at least 3 activities that employers can engage in to help address preterm birth.

Keywords: Cost Issues, Infant Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.