Abstract: ObjectiveTo analyze hospitalization expense and its main influencing factors in heart failure patients with medical insurance and to provide references for controlling the excessive increase of medical expense.MethodsRetrospective study was conducted based on a random sample of 307 hospitalized patients with medical insurance from January 2004 to December 2007 in Tianjin city.ResultsThe mean of hospitalization cost was 9 266.61 RMB Yuan per patient in Tianjin from 2004 to 2007.The mean of hospitalization cost was 3 517.34 RMB Yuan per patient for first-grade hospital,5 890.92 RMB Yuan per patient for second-grade hospital,and 10 313.73 RMB Yuan per patient for third-grade hospital,respectively.The item proportions of hospitalization cost of the patients were medicine(5 379.29 RMB Yuan,58.05%),inspection(1 380.62 RMB Yuan,14.90%),treatment(1 532.33 RMB Yuan,16.54%),surgery(28.21 RMB Yuan,0.30%),beding(422.54 RMB Yuan,4.56%),materials(473.42 RMB Yuan,5.11%),blood component transfusion(1.43 RMB Yuan,0.02%),and other costs(48.76 RMB Yuan,0.53%).The results of multiple linear regression showed that the patients hospitalized in higher rank hospital,with longer duration of stay,and having surgery had more hospitalization expense than other patients and the female patients had less expense.ConclusionGender,rank of hospital,duration of stay,and surgery are influencing factors of the hospitalization cost for heart failure patients with medical insurance in Tianjin city.