Mental health, substance abuse inpatient admissions increase

Inpatient admissions for mental health and substance abuse rose 6 percent and 20 percent, respectively, in 2011. And between 2007 and 2011, spending on hospital admissions for mental health and substance use grew faster than spending on medical/surgical admissions, finds a new Health Care Cost Institute report. "There's extraordinary growth in hospital substance use admissions by people with private health insurance since 2009," said HCCI Board Chairman Martin Gaynor, professor of economics and health policy at Carnegie Mellon University. "What is driving these increases is unclear." The report also notes out-of-pocket payments for substance use hospital admissions grew at twice the rate of out-of-pocket payments for mental health or medical/surgical admissions between 2010 and 2011. Statement