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4.3Results
DemographicCharacteristics
Table 5 provides demographic information onArizona residents age 65 and olderwhowere
discharged from anER or as a hospital inpatient in 2012. BeginningwithER discharges among
Arizonans age 65 and older, therewere 286,938 total ER discharges, with adults ages 65-84
accounting for about 81 percent of all ER discharges. Concerning costs, the average overall cost
of anER discharge for anArizonan age 65 and older in 2012was $6,175 and the average cost for
an inpatient hospital discharge for the same groupwas $53,956. Interestingly, the average cost of
anER discharge slightly increasedwith age group, but for inpatient discharges, price per
discharge decreased substantiallywith age. Bygender, females accounted for 168,254, or
roughly59 percent, of all ER discharges. Considering age group, females accounted for 57
percent, 58 percent, and 65 percent of ER discharges among adults age 65 ? 74, 75 ? 84, and 85
and older, respectively.White non-Hispanics accounted for 81 percent (233,013) of all ER
discharges, with an increasingpercentage ofWhite non-Hispanics in each increasing age group.
ThemajorityofArizonans age 65 and older discharged from anERweremarried (51 percent),
Table 5. Demographic Characteristics of Arizona Resident Emergency Room Discharges and
EmergencyRoomDischargeRates for adultsAge 65 andOlder byAgeGroup, 2012
Notes: *Cell suppressed due to non-zero count less than 6.
85+
85+
Years
Years
Totaldischarges
286,938 131,827 101,434 53,677 239,851 104,501 88,068 47,282
Average cost per discharge ($)
6,175 5,999 6,268 6,431 49,920 54,842 49,626 39,590
Gender
Female
168,254 74,750 58,843 34,661 128,513 52,687 46,825 29,001
Male
118,681 57,074 42,591 19,016 111,338 51,814 41,243 18,281
Race/Ethnicity
American Indianor Alaska Native
5,317 2,783 1,934
600 4,433 2,231 1,639
563
Asianor Pacific Islander
2,869 1,513
982
374 2,430 1,109
939
382
Blackor AfricanAmerican
7,794 4,470 2,489
835 5,744 2,953 2,059
732
Hispanic or Latino
35,884 18,920 12,272 4,692 24,055 11,686 8,831 3,538
White non-Hispanic
233,013 103,074 83,052 46,887 200,931 85,463 73,778 41,690
Other
146
87
43
16
210
100
69
41
Refused
1,915
980
662
273 2,048
959
753
336
Marital Status
Single
35,366 21,756 9,921 3,689 27,394 15,752 8,271 3,371
Married
145,342 74,950 52,792 17,600 123,392 61,218 46,689 15,485
Separated
1,585 1,117
369
99 1,083
699
305
79
Divorced
25,108 15,519 7,393 2,196 20,235 12,168 6,236 1,831
Widowed
78,144 17,826 30,525 29,793 65,977 13,951 25,931 26,095
Unknown
1,393
659
434
300 1,769
713
635
421
Not Applicable
0
0
0
0
0*
0
0*
0
Payee
Self
4,248 2,491 1,258
499 1,562
840
514
208
Private insurance (indemnity,HMO, PPO)
21,791 14,513 5,371 1,907 13,296 9,283 2,852 1,161
AHCCCSMedicaid/AHCCCSHCG
4,488 2,737 1,336
415 3,582 1,906 1,243
433
Medicare
191,113 83,790 68,566 38,757 167,455 70,713 61,905 34,837
Other
65,298 28,296 24,903 12,099 53,956 21,759 21,554 10,643
EmergencyRoomDischarges
InpatientDischarges
Total
65 - 74
Years
75 - 84
Years
Total
65 - 74
Years
75 - 84
Years
