Health Care Expenditures and Length of Disability Across Medical Conditions

OBJECTIVE: To describe the relationship between the length of short-term disability (STD) and health care spending. METHODS: Medical claims for insured US employees on STD were evaluated to describe the distribution of disability durations and health expenditures across major diagnostic categories and common medical conditions. Correlations between health expenditures and disability durations were examined. RESULTS: The most expensive 10% of cases accounted for more than half of total health spending. The longest 10% of cases accounted for more than one-third of total disability time. Only one-third of the most expensive cases were also among the longest in duration. Disability durations were moderately correlated with medical spending and this relationship was modified by comorbid conditions and age. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial barriers, in addition to biomedical factors, should be considered to achieve optimal functional outcomes and well-being of patients.