Medical rehabilitation is expensive. Is it really cost effective?
By reducing acute care hospital days (length of stay) and rehospitalizations, medical rehabilitation saves hundreds of millions of dollars per year in medical costs that would otherwise be paid by insurers, Medicare or Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), as well as by individuals. – Medical rehabilitation results in an estimated annual savings of $1 to $2 billion for public programs such as Workers’ Compensation, disability insurance and Medicaid. – A study by an insurance company has shown that, with severe brain injury, for every $1 spent on rehabilitation, $23 is saved over the lifetime of the person with the brain injury.
