The Costs of Meningococcal Disease
| Cost item | Estimated cost or range |
|---|---|
| Acute hospital facility cost | About $29,000 in current dollars |
| Ambulance and emergency transport | $500-$2,000 |
| Follow-up medical care | $500-$5,000+ |
| Physical, occupational, or speech therapy | $1,000-$25,000+ |
| Hearing testing or hearing aids | $200-$8,000+ |
| Mental health care | $0-$3,000+ |
| Family parking, meals, and lodging | $300-$3,500 |
| Ten to thirty missed workdays | $2,500-$7,500 |
| Care for children or other dependents | $300-$2,700 |
| Home accessibility equipment or modifications | $0-$25,000+ |
| Highest cost: With permanent complications | May exceed $100,000 |
A U.S. study estimated a mean acute hospital facility cost of $19,526 per admission in 2009 dollars; the figure shown here is a rounded inflation-adjusted planning value. Read the RTI summary of the meningococcal cost study. Long-term costs depend on complications such as hearing loss, neurologic injury, or amputation.
Disclaimer
Cost estimates are based on published U.S. healthcare expenditures and illustrative household expenses. Actual costs depend on disease severity, location, insurance coverage, wages, paid leave, services received, and family needs. Healthcare figures may represent combined payments from patients, insurers, and public programs and are not guaranteed to reflect out-of-pocket prices. Household expense ranges describe possible costs and should not be added as though every family will incur every item.
For the examples below, missed income is illustrated using median full-time earnings of $1,251 per week in the second quarter of 2026, about $250 per workday. A person’s actual loss may be higher, lower, or zero depending on wages and paid leave.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual Weekly Earnings, Second Quarter 2026.
Childcare prices differ sharply by location, age, and care setting. The ranges below are planning estimates. Local organizations can replace them with county-level prices from the U.S. Department of Labor database.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices.
