Of the more than 2.1 million Medicare beneficiaries who died in 2014, Medicare spent significantly more per person on medical services for younger seniors than on Americans in their 80s and 90s, according to a new data note from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Medicare claims data through 2014 showed that among those who died in 2014, average Medicare spending per person peaked at age 73 ($43,353 in 2014) and generally declined after that to $33,381 among 85-year-olds and $27,779 among 90-year-olds, KFF reported.
On the contrary, Medicare per person spending increased with age among Medicare beneficiaries who lived through the entire year, peaking at age 97 ($14,620 in 2014) before declining. Also, the analysis showed spending is higher for hospice care among older seniors.
Additionally, the KFF analysis shows Medicare per capita spending for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare who died at some point in 2014 was substantially higher than for those who lived the entire year, as might be expected. It also shows Medicare per capita spending among beneficiaries over age 65 who die in a given year declines steadily with age.
"These suggest that providers, patients and their families may be inclined to be more aggressive in treating younger seniors compared to older seniors, perhaps because there is a greater expectation for positive outcomes among those with a longer life expectancy, even those who are seriously ill," KFF said.
The full analysis is available here.
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