Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Brief Reports

Characteristics and Health Care Spending of Persistently and Transiently High-cost Older Adults in Korea: Sungchul Park, Giryeon Bae; J Prev Med Public Health. 2023;56(5):475-480. Published online September 4, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.23.270

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Objectives
This study examined differences in health care spending and characteristics among older adults in Korea by high-cost status (persistently, transiently, and never high-cost).
Methods
We identified 1 364 119 older adults using data from the Korean National Insurance Claims Database for 2017-2019. Outcomes included average annual total health care spending and high-cost status for 2017-2019. Linear regression was used to estimate differences in the outcomes while adjusting for individual-level characteristics.
Results
Persistently and transiently high-cost older adults had higher health care spending than never high-cost older adults, but the difference in health care spending was greater among persistently high-cost older adults than among transiently high-cost older adults (US$20 437 vs. 5486). Despite demographic and socioeconomic differences between transiently high-cost and never high-cost older adults, the presence of comorbid conditions remained the most significant factor. However, there were no or small differences in the prevalence of comorbid conditions between persistently high-cost and transiently high-cost older adults. Rather, notable differences were observed in socioeconomic status, including disability and receipt of Medical Aid.
Conclusions
Medical risk factors contribute to high health care spending to some extent, but social risk factors may be a source of persistent high-cost status among older adults in Korea.

Summary

Korean summary
- 한국에서 65세 이상의 고령층 고비용 환자 그룹 내에서 두 개의 이질적인 그룹을 발견하였다. - 지속적으로 고비용인 환자는 일시적으로 고비용인 환자보다 의료비 지출이 유의미하게 더 많았다. - 두 그룹의 특성을 비교한 결과, 건강요인의 차이도 있었지만 그보다는 사회적 요인의 차이가 더 컸다.

Key Message
- High-cost older adults are heterogeneous in terms of health care spending and sample characteristics in Korea. - Persistently high-cost older adults had significantly higher health care spending than transiently high-cost older adults. - Medical risk factors contribute to high health care spending to some extent, but social risk factors may be a source of persistent high-cost status among older adults.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Post-discharge healthcare utilization and costs in musculoskeletal surgery patients: A cohort study in Korea
Boyoung Jeon, Boyoung Jung, Yun-Kyung Song, Vasuki Rajaguru
PLOS One.2026; 21(2): e0342252. CrossRef
Factors Associated with Health Care Spending Among Adults in South Korea
Giryeon Bae, Sungchul Park
Journal of General Internal Medicine.2025; 40(10): 2462. CrossRef
Health Care Spending Increases and Value in South Korea
Sungchul Park, Joseph L. Dieleman, Marcia R. Weaver, Giryeon Bae, Karen Eggleston
JAMA Health Forum.2025; 6(1): e245145. CrossRef
Assessing differences among persistent, episodic, and non- high-need high-cost hospitalized children in China after categorization by an unsupervised learning algorithm
Peng Zhang, Bifan Zhu, Linan Wang
Archives of Public Health.2024;[Epub] CrossRef

Determinants of Hospital Inpatient Costs in the Iranian Elderly: A Micro-costing Analysis: Ebrahim Hazrati, zahra Meshkani, Saeed Husseini Barghazan, Sanaz Zargar Balaye Jame, Nader Markazi-Moghaddam; J Prev Med Public Health. 2020;53(3):205-210. Published online May 16, 2020; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.19.250

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Abstract PDF

Objectives
Aging is assumed to be accompanied by greater health care expenditures. The objective of this retrospective, bottom-up micro-costing study was to identify and analyze the variables related to increased health care costs for the elderly from the provider’s perspective.
Methods
The analysis included all elderly inpatients who were admitted in 2017 to a hospital in Tehran, Iran. In total, 1288 patients were included. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used.
Results
Slightly more than half (51.1%) of patients were males, and 81.9% had a partial recovery. The 60-64 age group had the highest costs. Cancer and joint/orthopedic diseases accounted for the highest proportion of costs, while joint/orthopedic diseases had the highest total costs. The surgery ward had the highest overall cost among the hospital departments, while the intensive care unit had the highest mean cost. No statistically significant relationships were found between inpatient costs and sex or age group, while significant associations (p<0.05) were observed between inpatient costs and the type of ward, length of stay, type of disease, and final status. Regarding final status, costs for patients who died were 3.9 times higher than costs for patients who experienced a partial recovery.
Conclusions
Sex and age group did not affect hospital costs. Instead, the most important factors associated with costs were type of disease (especially chronic diseases, such as joint and orthopedic conditions), length of stay, final status, and type of ward. Surgical services and medicine were the most important cost items.

Summary

Citations

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Analysis of medical costs and two-model prediction for patients with severe mental disorders in Gansu Province, China
Peiji Miao, Xiaomei Jiang, Jinjuan Li, Weimin Pan, Aixiang Xue, Juan Cao, Jingchun Fan
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Original Article

Use of Drug-eluting Stents Versus Bare-metal Stents in Korea: A Cost-minimization Analysis Using Population Data: Hae Sun Suh, Hyun Jin Song, Eun Jin Jang, Jung-Sun Kim, Donghoon Choi, Sang Moo Lee; J Prev Med Public Health. 2013;46(4):201-209. Published online July 31, 2013; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2013.46.4.201

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Abstract PDF

Objectives

The goal of this study was to perform an economic analysis of a primary stenting with drug-eluting stents (DES) compared with bare-metal stents (BMS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) admitted through an emergency room (ER) visit in Korea using population-based data.

Methods

We employed a cost-minimization method using a decision analytic model with a two-year time period. Model probabilities and costs were obtained from a published systematic review and population-based data from which a retrospective database analysis of the national reimbursement database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment covering 2006 through 2010 was performed. Uncertainty was evaluated using one-way sensitivity analyses and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

Results

Among 513 979 cases with AMI during 2007 and 2008, 24 742 cases underwent stenting procedures and 20 320 patients admitted through an ER visit with primary stenting were identified in the base model. The transition probabilities of DES-to-DES, DES-to-BMS, DES-to-coronary artery bypass graft, and DES-to-balloon were 59.7%, 0.6%, 4.3%, and 35.3%, respectively, among these patients. The average two-year costs of DES and BMS in 2011 Korean won were 11 065 528 won/person and 9 647 647 won/person, respectively. DES resulted in higher costs than BMS by 1 417 882 won/person. The model was highly sensitive to the probability and costs of having no revascularization.

Conclusions

Primary stenting with BMS for AMI with an ER visit was shown to be a cost-saving procedure compared with DES in Korea. Caution is needed when applying this finding to patients with a higher level of severity in health status.

Summary

Citations

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A cost analysis comparing telepsychiatry to in-person psychiatric outreach and patient travel reimbursement in Northern Ontario communities
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Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare.2020; 26(10): 607. CrossRef

English Abstract

Economic Burden of Cancer in South Korea for the Year 2005.: Jinhee Kim, Myung Il Hahm, Eun Cheol Park, Jae Hyun Park, Jong Hyock Park, Sung Eun Kim, Sung Gyeong Kim; J Prev Med Public Health. 2009;42(3):190-198.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2009.42.3.190

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Abstract PDF

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study is to estimate the economic costs of cancer on society. METHODS: We estimated the economic burden of people with cancer in South Korea. To perform the analysis, we reviewed the records of people who were cancer patients and those who were newly diagnosed with cancer. The data was compiled from the National Health Insurance Corporation, which included the insurance claims database, a list of cancer patients, a database that records the cancer rates, the Korea Central Cancer Registry Center's cancer patient registry database and the Korea National Statistical Office's causes of death database. We classified the costs as related to cancer into direct costs and indirect costs, and we estimated each cost. Direct costs included both medical and non-medical care expenses and the indirect costs consisted of morbidity, mortality and the caregiver's time costs. RESULTS: The total economic costs of cancer in South Korea stood at 14.1 trillion won in 2005. The largest amount of the cost 7.4 trillion won, was the mortality costs. Following this were the morbidity costs (3.2 trillion won), the medical care costs (2.2 trillion won), the non-medical care costs (1.1 trillion won) and the costs related to the caregiver's time (100 billion won). As a result, the economic cost of cancer to South Korea is estimated to be between 11.6 trillion won to 14.1 trillion won for the year 2005. CONCLUSIONS: We need to reduce the cancer burden through encouraging people to undergo early screening for cancer and curing it in the early stage of cancer, as well as implementing policies to actively prevent cancer.

Summary

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