Hospitalization costs for endovascular and surgical treatment of unruptured cerebral aneurysms in the United States are substantially higher than medicare payments.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Both endovascular and surgical options are available for treatment of unruptured cerebral aneurysms. We conducted a study to determine the costs versus Medicare reimbursement for hospitalization of these patients, which is important information for understanding the economic impact of these patients on hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using the NIS, we identified hospitalizations for clipping and coiling of unruptured cerebral aneurysms from 2001 to 2008 by cross-matching ICD-9 codes for diagnosis of unruptured aneurysm with procedure codes for clipping or coiling of cerebral aneurysms and excluding all patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracerebral hemorrhage. Hospital costs for 2008 were correlated with age, sex, and discharge status and compared with Medicare payments. RESULTS Costs of both clipping and coiling have increased from 2001 to 2008. The median 2008 hospital costs were $23,574 (IQR, $18,233-$29,941) for clipping and $25,734 (IQR, $17,436-$35,846) for coiling without complications, which were higher than the average Medicare payment of $12,599. The median hospital costs were $36,188 (IQR, $21,831-$55,308) for clipping and $40,502 (IQR, $24,289-$50,108) for coiling treatments complicated by major morbidity and $68,165 (IQR, $32,972-$100,211) for clipping and $56,020 for coiling treatments complicated by mortality, which were higher than the average Medicare payment for patients with major complications and comorbidities of $22,946. In multivariate analysis, female sex was associated with higher costs for coiling (P = .02), and poor discharge status was associated with higher costs for both clipping (P < .001) and coiling (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Hospitalization costs for patients undergoing clipping and coiling of unruptured cerebral aneurysms are substantially higher than Medicare payments.