title: Pronounced gender and age differences are evident in personal health care spending per person.
abstract: This paper examines differences in national health care spending by gender and age. Our research found significant variations in per person spending by gender across age groups, health services, and types of payers. For example, in 2004 per capita health care spending for females was 32 percent more than for males. Per capita differences were most pronounced among the working-age population, largely because of spending for maternity care. Except for children, total spending for and by females was greater than that for and by males, for most services and payers. The gender difference in total spending was most pronounced in the elderly, as a result of the longer life expectancy of women.
authors.affiliation: National Health Statistics Group, Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore,Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cylus
authors.forename: Micah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hartman
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Washington
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Catlin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult