Trends in Medicare Payments in the Last Year of Life

Abstract

Increased attention is being paid to the amount and types of medical services rendered in the period before death. There is a popular impression that a greater share of resources is being devoted to dying patients than in the past. We examined trends in the proportion of Medicare expenditures for persons 65 years old or older in their last year of life to determine whether there were any changes from 1976 to 1988.