Indirect costs typically include which of the following?

• A. Productivity loss and transportation
• B. Medication costs
• C. Hospital charges
• D. Medical devices

Answer: (A)

Indirect costs are the economic losses associated with illness that aren’t billed as medical care itself. The option that includes productivity loss and transportation captures those broader impacts—lost wages from not being able to work and the time and money spent traveling to and from care. These are not charges from providers but real costs endured because of illness or treatment.

Medications, hospital charges, and medical devices are direct medical costs tied to the actual care and products used in treatment, rather than the broader economic effects on productivity and access.