ArticleJournal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association2026
Who pays the most for neonatal intensive care? An analysis of the out-of-pocket cost burden borne by NICU families.
Article in Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo document direct medical out-of-pocket (OOP) cost of NICU admissions and investigate structural contributions to differential cost burden. STUDY
designSurvey-weighted multivariable regression analyzed the relationship between OOP cost and structural covariates, in a cross-sectional study of 813 NICU patients with admissions reported in the 2000-2021 U.S. Medical Expenditures Panel Survey.
resultsThe OOP cost distribution was right-skewed with median = $0, IQR = $181, and range = $0-$58 584. Relative to a publicly-insured, lowest-income ( < 100% of FPL) reference group, covariates for insurance type and income bracket were significant to ≥95% confidence: costs were 11x higher for the privately-insured, 15x higher for the uninsured, and 1.4x higher per income bracket increase. Predicted mean costs for families with incomes <100% of FPL are: Public Only Insurance: $126; Any Private Insurance: $1382; Uninsured: $1916.
conclusionWhile NICU OOP costs appear lower among the publicly-insured, substantial costs burden privately-insured and uninsured families.
Identifiers
42581157What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.