[Health insurance expenses for children in the first five years of life - a cohort-based analysis].
BACKGROUND
The development of paediatrics is characterised by several changes in the past few years, concerning, in particular holistic treatments or preventive check-ups, but also the transfer of treatment from the inpatient to the outpatient sector. There are no reference values for assessing emerging health insurance expenses. The aim of this study was to obtain a frame of reference for the costs of the treatment for neonates, infants, and young children using the example of the expenditures of one health insurance fund.


METHODS
The individual health insurance expenditures were analysed for the first five years of life of children insured with the AOK PLUS in Saxony, Germany, in 2005. Costs of hospital treatment, ambulatory care, remedies, tools, medicines and care were included.


RESULTS
The costs per insured child and year amounted to approximately 1,277 Euro (N = 11,147), with the highest costs arising in the first two years. 858 Euro were spent annually for an "average" child; 5,691 Euro per year incurred for a child with special medical needs.


CONCLUSIONS
The present cost analysis describes both the height and structure of a health insurance's spendings on children within the first five years of their life in consideration of regional medical care offers. The question of whether this analysis provides valid reference values for other health insurances or other service areas will have to be answered by other analyses.
Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden.
Jörg
J
Reichert
Maryan
M
Schemken
René
R
Manthei
Rolf
R
Steinbronn
Ulrike
U
Bucher
Michael
M
Albrecht
Mario
M
Rüdiger
D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics; D001724:Birth Weight; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000191:economics; D015996:Survival Rate
Behandlungskosten; Kostenanalyse; Krankenkassenausgaben; Krankenversicherung; Medical treatment; Patientenversorgung; cost analysis; health insurance; health insurance expenditures; patient care