Direct health costs
Total health expenditure was estimated at $198 million in 2009, or approximately $1,583 per person with vision loss aged over 40 years [ii]. Health expenditure is projected to reach $523 million by 2020, or $3,008 per person with vision loss.
Direct financial costs to the New Zealand health system include the relevant proportion of the costs of running hospitals and rest homes, GP and specialist medical services, the cost of prescription pharmaceuticals, allied health services, research and other direct costs. As GP and optometrist consultations were only able to be calculated for individuals with moderate to severe vision loss, it is likely $198 million is an underestimation of total health costs.
Health system expenditure, 2009 (total $198 million)
Cost component | Estimated cost ('000) |
|---|---|
Public inpatient and day stay | $46,947 |
Public outpatients | $18,821 |
Private inpatient and day stay | $15,632 |
Private outpatients | $23,379 |
Argon Laser surgery | $978 |
Total | $105,758 |
Public hospital inpatient and day stay costs made up 24% of overall health expenditure. The following chart breaks down these costs by condition. Almost two thirds ($30 million) of the public hospital inpatient and day stay costs were related to cataract treatment.
The direct costs of treating eye conditions is significant - $198 million in 2009. Fifteen percent of this cost was made up of cataract treatment in public hospitals.
Public hospital inpatient and day stay expenditure by disease, 2009
Health system costs are expected to increase between 2009 and 2020. The largest increase is in hospital costs, which are projected to increase from an estimated $106 million to $280 million.
Health system costs ($), 2009 and 2020
The values in the graph above are from table 4.12 in the full Clear focus report. This is reproduced below.
Table 4.12: Health system costs - projections to 2020
Cost component | 2009 health system costs | 2020 health system costs |
|---|---|---|
hospital | $105,757,892 | $279,773,679 |
aged care | $67,401,985 | $178,306,327 |
optometry | $6,872,148 | $18,179,694 |
GP | $2,329,905 | $6,163,569 |
research | $816,894 | $2,161,025 |
pharmaceuticals | $14,376,296 | $38,031,291 |
Total | $197,555,120 | $522,615,586 |
Costs are projected to more than double to $523 million by 2020, or $3,008 per person with vision loss aged over 40, assuming a policy-neutral environment.
[ii] Health cost estimates are based on data from Ministry of Health, PHARMAC, RNZFB, Statistics New Zealand, Health Research Council, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and others. References are available in the full Clear Focus report.
This page is part of the overview report Clear Focus: The economic impact of vision loss in New Zealand in 2009.
