Standard Errors
Exhibit 1.1: Number and Characteristics of U.S. Hospitals Number of U.S. Registered Hospitals and Characteristics of Community Hospitals, 1997, 2004, and 2005
Hospital Categories and Characteristics 1997 2004 2005
Number of U.S. registered hospitals† 6,100 5,759 5,756
Number of U.S. community hospitals 5,060 4,919 4,936
Number of nongovernment not-for-profit hospitals 3,000 2,967 2,958
Number of investor-owned (for-profit) community hospitals 797 865 868
Number of State and local government community hospitals 1,260 1,117 1,110
Community hospitals as a share of registered hospitals 83% 85% 86%
Community hospitals‡
Discharges:
Total discharges in millions 34.679 38.662 39.164
Discharges per 1,000 population* 127.8 131.7 132.1
Total days of care in millions 168.0778 179.1495 181.4564
Average length of stay in days 4.8 4.6 4.6
Charges and costs**
Average charges per stay $11,300 $20,400 $22,300
Costs
Total aggregate costs in billions $177.080 $294.591 $310.916
Average costs per stay $5,100 $7,600 $7,900
Inflation-adjusted costs in 2005 dollars***
Total aggregate costs in billions $209.241 $303.515 $310.916
Average costs per stay $6,000 $7,900 $7,900
Percent of discharges from:
Metropolitan hospitals 84% 87% 87%
Teaching hospitals 47 45 42
Hospital ownership:
Non-Federal government hospitals 14 14 14
Private not-for-profit hospitals 73 73 71
Private for-profit hospitals 13 13 13
Population in millions†† 271.3944 293.6568 296.4104
 
Community hospitals‡
Discharges:
Total discharges in millions 0.653509 0.707463 0.765017
Discharges per 1,000 population* 2.4 2.4 2.6
Total days of care in millions 3.444751 3.343359 3.425351
Average length of stay in days 0.0 0.0 0.0
Charges and costs**
Average charges per stay $204 $417 $537
Costs
Total aggregate costs in billions $5.399 $7.302 $8.018
Average costs per stay $108 $126 $151
Inflation-adjusted costs in 2005 dollars***
Total aggregate costs in billions $6.379 $7.523 $8.018
Average costs per stay $128 $130 $151
†Statistics from the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals.
‡Statistics from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP).
††Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of the Census (http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/2005_nat_res.html).
*Calculated using resident population from the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
**Charges represent amounts billed by hospitals. These amounts are seldom paid in full by insurers. Costs are calculated from charges using reported cost-to-charge ratios calculated from information on Medicare Cost Reports, reported by hospitals to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
***Adjusted for inflation using the GDP deflator (http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/TableView.asp#Mid, Table 1.1.4. Price Indexes for Gross Domestic Product).

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