Rising Costs in Hospital Utilization for Adults with Hypertension in South Florida

In 2010, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that one in three US adults has hypertension, which is 31.3% of the population. The cost for healthcare services and medication totaled to approximately $76.6 billion for Hypertension in the past year. Using Broward Regional Health Planning Council data, this study aims to estimate the average amount of hospital expenditure for one hypertension-related admission and illustrate utilization trends over five years, targeting adults 18 to 64 years of age in four South Florida counties: Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties. The number of hypertension-related admissions in South Florida hospitals grew from 87,587 patients (2006) to 94,823 (2010), an 8.26% increase in admissions. However, the hospital expenditure grew from $3.15 billion in 2006 to $4.38 billion in 2010, a 39.29% increase in cost. In addition, there is an upward trend in the average hospital expenditure per admission due to hypertension for adults between 18 years and 64 years, calculated to be $46,215 per admission in 2010. From 2009 to 2010, males between 40 to 64 years show the highest increase in hospital admissions, whereas females 18 to 39 years show a decrease in hypertension-related hospital admissions in South Florida. The hypertension-related hospital expenditure is increasing at a higher rate than the number of hypertension admissions, almost by 5 times. Through a combination of improved prevention initiatives and targeted chronic disease self-management programs, the health and economic impact of hypertension can be improved.