title: Medicare spending for injured elders: are there opportunities for savings?
abstract: Claims for injury care provided to aged fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries cost Medicare more than $8 billion in 1999, almost 6 percent of Medicare claims spending for elders. More than one-fifth of aged FFS beneficiaries had an injury that resulted in a claim. Fractures, which were experienced by one in seventeen aged beneficiaries, were responsible far 67 percent of total injury claims expenses. Medicare could realize substantial savings if these injuries could be prevented; the program should consider underwriting effective prevention activities.
authors.affiliation: Schneider Institute for Health Policy, Heller School, Brandeis University, USA.
authors.forename: Christine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gilden
authors.forename: Jacobus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blom
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kubisiak
authors.forename: Rosemarie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hakim
authors.forename: Angelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Deborah W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Garnick
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018588:Fee-for-Service Plans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control