Medicare beneficiaries' costs of care in the last year of life.
This paper profiles Medicare beneficiaries' costs for care in the last year of life. About one-quarter of Medicare outlays are for the last year of life, unchanged from twenty years ago. Costs reflect care for multiple severe illnesses typically present near death. Thirty-eight percent of beneficiaries have some nursing home stay in the year of their death; hospice is now used by half of Medicare cancer decedents and 19 percent of Medicare decedents overall. African Americans have much higher end-of-life costs than others have, an unexpected finding in light of their generally lower health care spending.
Hogan
C
C
Direct Research LLC, Vienna, Virginia, USA.
Lunney
J
J
Gabel
J
J
Lynn
J
J
D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004194:Disease / Q000145:classification; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006738:Hospices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology