This statistical brief from the Agency from Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) examines the five most costly children's conditions in 2006, including mental disorders.

Health care expenditures for the treatment of children’s ailments have been on the rise in the U.S. Traditionally, medical expenditures have been concentrated for the treatment of certain types of highly prevalent conditions or for which treatment often entails the use of high cost services. This Statistical Brief presents data from MEPSHC regarding medical expenditures associated with the five most costly conditions for children ages 0–17 in 2006. The five most costly conditions for children (mental disorders, asthma, trauma related disorders, acute bronchitis, and infectious diseases) were determined by totaling and ranking the expenses by condition for all medical care provided in 2006. Only differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 0.05 level are discussed in the text.

Full report: The Five Most Costly Children’s Conditions, 2006 (PDF | 349.32 KB)

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Agency from Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2009). The five most costly children's conditions, 2006: Estimates for the U.S. noninstitutionalized children, ages 0-17. Soni, A.