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The Costs of Caring for Children With Cancer

Bernard S. Bloom, PhD; Robert S. Knorr, MPH; Audrey E. Evans, MD

JAMA. 1985;253(16):2393-2397.

Abstract
We determined medical costs and family out-of-pocket expenses over time for 569 children with malignant neoplasms. All medical charges (inpatient and outpatient), family out-of-pocket expenses, and wages lost were collected and annualized. The mean cost of cancer care and treatment per patient-year was $29,708, with variation by diagnosis, prognosis, and year since diagnosis. The mean annual hospital inpatient cost was $15,455; mean ambulatory care cost, $3,806; and family out-of-pocket disease-related expenses, $9,787. Family out-of-pocket expenses added about 50% to the total cost of disease-related care and consumed 38% of gross annual family income; wages lost accounted for nearly half. About 95% of all medical costs was paid by private, public, or charitable payers. Out-of-pocket medical expenses for which the family was responsible were about $1,000 each year. However, all nonmedical, disease-related expenses were borne by the family.

(JAMA 1985;253:2393-2397)

Author Affiliations
From the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania (Dr Bloom and Mr Knorr) and the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Dr Evans), Philadelphia.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to University of Pennsylvania, 2L NEB/S2, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (Dr Bloom).

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