Decompensated Cirrhosis? Some $48K per year for the average patient.
Compensated Cirrhosis ? Some $36K per year for the average patient.
These are numbers from 2020 (add about 4% per year in cost inflation since then, on average), from a Medicare Advantage population.
A recent study published in Hepatology highlights that cirrhosis has become a significant public health crisis in the United States, with its care burden surpassing that of heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Analyzing data from over 93,000 Medicare Advantage patients with cirrhosis between 2011 and 2020, researchers found that the average monthly healthcare cost per patient with cirrhosis was $3,032—21.7% higher than HF ($2,492) and 55.0% higher than COPD ($1,956). SOURCE: Gastroenterology Advisor
Notably, patients with decompensated cirrhosis incurred even higher costs, averaging $3,969 per month, which is 59.3% more than HF and 103.0% more than COPD. Inpatient care constituted nearly half of these expenses, reflecting the complexity and severity of hospitalizations in such cases. The study also observed a 29.9% increase in total patient-month costs for cirrhosis over the decade, outpacing the cost growth for HF (25.2%) and COPD (27.9%).
The rising prevalence of cirrhosis is attributed to factors like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and alcohol-associated liver disease. Given these findings, the researchers emphasize the urgent need for public health interventions aimed at preventing the progression of liver disease to cirrhosis and from compensated to decompensated stages, which could significantly reduce both health complications and financial burdens.
More expensive than HF. And COPD.
