The cost of caring for Down syndrome

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Boulet et al from the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities have studied the health care insurance claims data from a privately insured population to estimate health care use and expenses for infants and children with Down syndrome. The mean medical cost for children 0 to 4 years was 12 to 13 times higher than for children without Down syndrome. For infants with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect, mean and median costs were 5 to 7 times higher than for infants with Down syndrome who did not have heart disease. These results will guide future planning for the care of children affected by Down syndrome.