Study: 1 percent of patients account for 21 percent of medical costs

About 1 percent of medical patients who are battling multiple chronic illnesses consumed 21 percent of the nearly $1.3 trillion Americans spent on health care in 2010, at a cost of nearly $88,000 per person, according to a recent federal report (Source: “Costliest 1 Percent Of Patients Account For 21 Percent Of U.S. Health Spending,” Kaiser Health News, Oct. 7, 2013).

The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report found that 5 percent of patients accounted for 50 percent of all health-care expenditures. By contrast, the bottom 50 percent of patients accounted for just 2.8 percent of spending that year, according to a recent report.

Experts say better coordination is care is critical to addressing the high cost of so-called “superutilizers.”

"We've seen situations where for want of a $20 cab ride to get to dialysis, a patient ended up with an emergency hospitalization costing $20,000," said Tim McNeill, chief operating officer of Jackson, Miss.-based Medical Mall.