CLEVELAND — It's no secret that hospital stays in the U.S. can cost a pretty penny, and a new study from Quote Wizard Insurance is telling a lot about the state of the health care industry in the nation.
While Ohio comes in at number 12 for most expensive hospital stays, 'the buckeye state' also ranked number 12 in the category of highest increase rate for a hospital stay in a ten-year period, with an increase of 49.2%. The number one state, North Dakota, registered a 188.61% increase in health expenses from 2009 to 2018.
The study also found that overall hospital debt in the U.S. increased astronomically from 2015 to 2018, going from $617 million to $56 billion in the span of three years.
Unlike many other developed countries, the United States sees an incredibly high percentage of health care costs put toward administrative resources, such as H.R. or technology. Other nations typically report anywhere from 1-3%, while the U.S. has an unprecedented rate of 8%. Experts attribute this to the U.S.'s lack of a universal healthcare system that contributes to a lack of uniformity.
Quote Wizard Insurance also found that overall, the average hospital expense in the U.S. increased by 36% in the last ten years, coming in around $2,335 today.
Read more from the study here.