OBJECTIVES: Asthma, the most prevalent chronic disease in children, has direct impact on the annual numbers of all-cause hospitalizations, emergency room (ER) visits, outpatient visits, and medication use. Asthma also impacts annual per-capita all-cause medical expenditure. The study analyzes the scale of the impact of asthma on healthcare utilization and medical expenditure for all children (< 18 years old), as well as for children covered by Medicaid and private payers.

METHODS: The primary source of data for this study was the 2014-2016 household component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). To assess the impact, we applied margins operation to negative binomial regression results for healthcare utilization and to two-part regression results for medical expenditure. We used MEPS personal weights to estimate the impact of asthma at the national scale.

RESULTS: Of 29,091 children in the MEPS 2014-2016 sample, 2,342 were children with asthma (8.1%). All children (Medicaid covered, private payer covered) with asthma had on average 14% (21%, 10%) more ER visits, 4% (6%, 4%) more hospitalizations, 132% (103%, 190%) more office visits, and 378% (579%, 334%) more prescription medication each year. Having asthma also increased annual per-capita all-cause medical expenditure by $1,367 for all services, $85 for ER visits, $116 for hospitalizations, $307 for office-based outpatient visits, and by $509 for prescription medications. In the Medicaid (private payer) population, having asthma increased the annual per-capita all-cause medical expenditure by $1,666 ($699) for all services, $70 ($61) for ER visits, $50 ($10) for hospitalizations, $312 ($217) for office-based outpatient visits, and $633 ($573) for prescription medication. All values with exception of hospitalizations were significant.

CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the strong impact of asthma on healthcare services and medical expenditure and underscores the importance of developing effective asthma control programs.