Kosali Simon co-authors paper examining how life-saving healthcare devices can raise home power bills by 40%

Irsay Co-Director Kosali Simon (Distinguished Professor, Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs) has co-authored a paper in Nature Scientific Reports, “The Electricity Cost Burden of Durable Medical Equipment in the United States,” examining one of the significant yet hidden costs of lifesaving healthcare.

Distinguished Professor Kosali Simon

“As technology advances,” Simon said, “we rely on more complex and more personalized medical devices which hold great promise to improve patient health. Research pays a lot of attention to the sticker price and out of pocket price for the devices, but in this article we explore energy needs as one of the many non-obvious costs of healthcare.”

Lifesaving durable medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, continuous air pressure machines for sleep apnea, or home dialysis machines, can significantly increase household electricity bills. For instance, the annual electricity cost for running an oxygen concentrator 24 hours a day can reach $717, while a peritoneal kidney dialysis machine may cost up to $837 annually in states with high electricity rates.

While insurance may cover the machine costs, it will not cover additional electricity cost, leaving it to be borne by the patient who may be left with difficult financial choices. The added electricity costs can represent over 40% of a typical monthly electricity bill in states like Hawaii and Massachusetts.