Medical Costs Higher for Children With Sickle Cell Disease

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) were shown to have annual medical costs of $9369 (Medicaid) and $13,469 (private insurance), which is significantly higher than that for children without SCD, according to a study led by Djesika D. Amendah, PhD, an economist at the CDC.¹ SCD in children resulted in total medical costs of at least $335 million per year in the United States in 2005.

Children with SCD enrolled in Medicaid were shown to have lower medical costs than those with private insurance ($14,722, private insurance; $11,075, Medicaid [Figure]). However, annual average costs of prescription drugs were lower for children with SCD who had private insurance ($531) than they were for those enrolled in Medicaid ($1049).