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The direct cost of rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES
This analysis estimated the direct cost of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from a societal perspective.


METHODS
Primary and secondary data sets were used to determine the rate of medical resource utilization. National average Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement rates were used to value direct costs (in 1994 dollars).


RESULTS
Persons with RA have, on average, dollar 1702 in direct costs for treating RA annually. More than half of the total cost is for medications. Nursing home care accounts for nearly one fifth of the cost and hospitalizations and ambulatory care (combined) comprise another fifth of the total cost. Travel to medical appointments and medical supplies make up the remaining 10%. The projected annual US direct costs are dollar 3.6 billion for treating RA.


CONCLUSIONS
The health care utilization in persons with RA is frequent and includes a number of components leading to high annual direct cost.