Healthcare costs of XXXX in the Netherlands: a cost-of-illness perspective.

@entity1 @entity308 @entity146 @entity303 @entity161 @entity717
Healthcare costs are continuously increasing, and impose a strong responsibility on governments for an adequate allocation of resources among healthcare provisions and @entity1 . The aims of the present study were to describe the healthcare costs of @entity717 ( @entity717 ) and other @entity146 in the context of the total costs of all other diseases, and to determinate the future need of healthcare resources, especially for @entity146 . The present authors performed a top-down cost-of-illness study comprising all healthcare costs of the Netherlands in 1994. Data on healthcare use were obtained for all 22 healthcare sectors, and used to ascribe costs to disease groups, age and sex. Costs of @entity146 are by far the largest in the Dutch healthcare system. Some 25.8% of total disease-specific costs could be ascribed to @entity146 : @entity146 conditions, 10.6%; @entity717 , 9.0%; and @entity303 , 6.2%. There are large differences between age and sex groups. The costs of @entity717 and @entity161 are higher among @entity1 , and the costs of @entity303 and @entity308 are higher among @entity1 . The age pattern shows two peaks: the first occurs at 25-35 years of age ( @entity717 and @entity146 conditions); and the second at 75-85 years of age ( @entity303 ). Time trends between 1988 and 1994 show an average annual growth rate of 5.2% for total healthcare costs: @entity146 conditions, 4.8%; @entity717 , 5.4%; and @entity303 , 9.4%. Demographic projections suggest a less-than-average cost increase for @entity717 and @entity146 (with annual growth rates of 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively) compared to the costs of @entity303 and total healthcare (with annual growth rates of 1.6% and 0.9%, respectively). @entity717 and @entity146 represent a large part of healthcare use in the Netherlands. The costs will inevitably increase because of the ageing of the population and increasing life expectancy among @entity1 with disabilities. Non-specific cost containment measures may endanger the quality of care for vulnerable @entity1 at younger and older ages.
