OBJECTIVES: To quantify individual and national estimates of the direct medical costs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), using national survey data. METHODS: This was a retrospective study using 1996-2006 data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Individuals’ self-reported health conditions were mapped to International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic codes. Individuals with an ICD-9-CM diagnostic code of 714.xx (rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory polyarthropathies) were categorized as having RA.  Health care services included prescription medications, inpatient, outpatient, emergency room, office, and home health visits. Total direct medical costs included health care costs covered within the health care system including those covered by health insurance plans and out-of-pocket (OOP) costs paid by individuals. To estimate costs, multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to compare individuals with and without RA. All costs were inflated using the medical component of the 2008 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and are represented in 2008 US dollars. RESULTS: There were 1213 individuals with RA (mean age=58 years; 75% female) and 160,985 without RA, (mean age=48 years; 58% female). Annual per capita health care costs for individuals with RA were more than double for those individuals without RA ($8955 vs. $3,925; P<0.0001). Annual per capita OOP costs for individuals with RA were also higher than those of individuals without RA ($2131 vs. $917; P<0.0001). When combining health care and OOP costs, per capita direct costs increased by $11,086. The US national annual estimates of the, total direct medical costs (healthcare, OOP) for individuals with RA were $7.9 billion ($6.36 billion, $1.54 billion). CONCLUSIONS: The direct medical costs associated with RA are substantial not only to health care payers but also to patients. The extent to which appropriate and early diagnosis and treatment of RA may reduce total healthcare costs for healthcare payers and individuals with these diseases should be examined.