The 2005 bill, which is adjusted for inflation, represents the total amount charged for 39 million hospital stays.

The average yearly rate of increase over the last several years in the national hospital bill was 4.5 percent. At this rate, researchers estimate that the annual national hospital bill may reach $1 trillion by 2008.

The AHRQ report also found that:

Medicare paid the bulk of the national hospital bill ($411 billion), followed by private insurance ($272 billion) and Medicaid ($124 billion). Uninsured hospital stays accounted for $38 billion in charges. The remaining $28 billion was for other insurers, including Workers' Compensation, TRICARE, Title V, and other government programs. One fifth of the national hospital bill was for treatment of just five conditions - coronary artery disease ($46 billion), pregnancy and childbirth ($44 billion), newborn infant care ($35 billion), heart attack ($32 billion), and congestive heart failure ($30 billion).

For 10 conditions, the growth was greater than the average of all hospital stays:

Sepsis 189 percent Chest pain 181 percent Respiratory failure 171 percent Back pain 170 percent Osteoarthritis 165 percent Irregular heart beat 131 percent Procedure complications 120 percent Congestive heart failure 117 percent Medical device complications 113 percent Diabetes 97 percent

This AHRQ News and Numbers is based on data in The National Hospital Bill: Growth Trends and 2005 Update on the Most Expensive Conditions by Payer. The report uses statistics from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of hospital inpatient stays that is nationally representative of inpatient stays in all short-term, non-Federal hospitals. The data are drawn from hospitals that comprise 90 percent of all discharges in the United States and include all patients, regardless of insurance type, as well as the uninsured.

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A strong relationship exists between weight and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in that your neck gets thicker as you gain weight. This increases the level of fat in the back of the throat, narrowing the airway. With more fat in the throat, your airway is more likely to be blocked.

People with OSA are often obese and have a neck size of more than 17 inches. Many people with OSA also have high blood pressure.

It is estimated that four percent of men and two percent of women have OSA, and millions more remain undiagnosed.

First introduced as a treatment option for OSA in 1981, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common and effective treatment for OSA. CPAP provides a steady stream of pressurized air to patients through a mask that they wear during sleep. This airflow keeps the airway open, preventing the pauses in breathing that characterize sleep apnea and restoring normal oxygen levels.

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