Rand Study Highlights High Costs of Air Pollution for Hospitals in California

cleartheair — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:05:54 +0000

(March 2, 2010)-A study of hospital-based medical costs resulting from poor air quality in California shows that air pollution caused $193 million in expenditures over a two-year period. This would be equal to the cost of providing flu vaccines to 85 percent of children under age 15 in California. In the study entitled, The Impact of Air Quality on Hospital Spending, which was carried out by a division of the RAND Corporation, researchers estimated the amount of medical spending on the part of private health insurers and public programs, such as Medicare, related to air pollution. They calculated that ozone and particulate matter caused almost 30,000 emergency room visits and hospital admissions for asthma, pneumonia, acute bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other ailments. The estimate is conservative because it did not account for outpatient care in medical offices or clinics. Most of the costs were shouldered by Medicare and the state-run program. The study’s authors conclude that insurers, employers and the public all have a financial stake in improving air quality.

Clear The Air Challenge » Utah’s Clear the Air Challenge – Reduce Air Pollution in Utah

Rand Study Highlights High Costs of Air Pollution for Hospitals in California