OBJECTIVES: In Mexico, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is frequent and varies according to age: children between 0 and 5 years: 23.7%, women between 15 and 44.99 years: 15.6%, pregnant women 20.6%. Intravenous iron (IV) is a treatment option for IDA when patients are intolerant to oral iron or there is a need to replenish iron stores. The objective of this study was to estimate the relative direct health care costs of ferric carboxymaltose (FCM), IV iron dextran (ID), and red-blood cells (RBC) transfusions for patients with IDA in Mexican private hospitals. The assessment has been made from the third party payer perspective represented by health insurances across multiple therapeutic areas (TA) (gastroenterology, gynecology, and surgery). METHODS: A cost-minimization analysis assuming similar efficacy and safety of the alternatives was conducted since the evidence of IV ID is limited in the selected TAs limiting our ability for indirect comparisons. Mean IV iron dose needed to correct IDA is estimated to be 1000 mg per patient and IV infusion time required is based on the Mexican SmPc for both products (FCM 15 minutes versus ID 6 hours). Mean cost of infusions was calculated based on daily hospitalization costs according to national tariffs (according to 5 private health care institutions). Cost savings due to IV iron-induced reduction of RBC transfusion before hip and knee surgery are based on published evidence (Kotze et al). RESULTS: In all the TAs, the use of FCM compared to ID regarding infusion efficiency derived from reduced hospitalization time and IV iron-induced reduction of RBC transfusions resulted in substantial cost savings. Independently of the TA, mean costs savings per patient were $6980 Mexican pesos. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the utilization of FCM could reduce costs to the health insurances at private hospitals due to improved administration efficiency and reduction in RBC transfusions.