Costs in Year after Heart Attack Rise

Costs for each Medicare patient treated for a heart attack rose 17% in the last decade, a new study finds. Only about 26% of that increase came in the first 30 days, including the hospital stay. The rest of the increase occurred in the next 11 months. Researchers looked at cost data for more than 300,000 patients. Each of them had a hospital stay for a heart attack in 1998, 1999 or 2008. The total number of hospital stays for heart attacks fell, probably because of better preventive treatments. But costs for each patient rose about $6,100. About $4,500 of the increase occurred later than the month after the heart attack. Costs paid for nursing homes, hospice, home health care, medical equipment and outpatient care nearly doubled. Researchers noted that Medicare limits what it will pay for heart attack treatment and the 30 days afterward.