Healthcare Costs for Seniors Who Experience Falls Exceed $26,000
Healthcare costs for seniors who needed emergency services after a fall averaged $26,143 in the year following the event, according to a recent study published in The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.Those costs significantly exceeded the average $8,642 in healthcare costs in the year prior to the event. Researchers reviewed Medicare expenditures of 2,494 patients for a year after they were transported to one of 51 emergency departments for a fall. The average $26,143 in costs after falls included $1,957 spent on acute care and $20,560 in post-acute care expenses. Higher baseline costs, older age, comorbidities, arm and leg fractures, non-injury diagnoses, and surgical interventions were all associated with higher costs. Access the abstract.