Medicare costs and health resource utilisation associated with atrial fibrillation in the elderly

SummaryThe study objective was to quantify health care utilisation and medical costs for Medicare beneficiaries with atrial fibrillation (AF). Patients aged >65 years with an AF diagnosis were identified in the Medicare 5% sample Standard Analytic Files between July and December 1998 and followed for 1 year. Total and AF-related resource use and costs were measured from the Medicare payment perspective.Among 59,648 AF patients, over 50% had a hospital admission during follow-up, and 88% had a physician encounter with a principal AF diagnosis. AF patients incur significant AF-related medical costs, averaging approximately $670 per patient each year. Estimated direct treatment costs to the Medicare Program for AF (identified by claims with a principal AF diagnosis) were $797M, whilst overall 1-year costs for all AF patients totalled $14B. These findings have important policy implications for the cost-effectiveness of new treatments that eliminate or reduce the AF burden in Medicare patients.