U.S. patient hospital bills up $70 billion

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The cost of a stay in a U.S. hospital has risen, especially for those with no health insurance, U.S. health officials said.

Hospital charges -- what patients are billed for rooms, nursing care, diagnostic tests and other services -- jumped from $873 billion in 2005 to $943 billion in 2006, News and Numbers, a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality said.

The increase occurred even though hospitals admissions increased only slightly, from 39.2 million to 39.5 million. However, insured patients and their health plans pay less than the full charge while uninsured patients are expected to pay the full amount, the report said.

The AHRQ report said that from 2005 to 2006, hospital charges increased by:

-- $38 billion to $44 billion, or 15 percent for people with no insurance.

-- $124 billion to $135 billion, or 9 percent for Medicaid patients.

-- $411 billion to $444 billion, or 8 percent for Medicare patients.

-- $272 billion to $287 billion, or 6 percent for patients with private insurance.

This report is based on data from the 2006 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of hospital inpatient stays that is nationally representative of inpatient stays in all short-term, non-federal hospitals.