➡ From Child Welfare Information Gateway NJ:
US: The Newborn Illness That Is Costing Our Health Care System Billions — And It’s Not Zika (Opinion)
Forbes – September 29, 2016
The medical expenditures for a Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) baby are about $66,700 with an average hospitalization of nearly 17 days, compared to $3,500 and a two-day hospital stay for the average healthy baby. Taxpayer-funded state Medicaid agencies are struggling to keep up, having to shoulder approximately 80% of the costs. NAS also carries heavy societal costs, requiring increased expenditures on social services, special education, and sadly, the criminal justice system. These children are born at a social, mental, and physical disadvantage as a result of a condition that is 100% preventable.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrist/2016/09/29/the-newborn-illness-that-is-costing-our-health-care-system-billions-and-its-not-zika/&refURL=&referrer=