Racial and Ethnic Differences in End-of-Life Medicare Expenditures.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine to what extent demographic, social support, socioeconomic, geographic, medical, and End-of-Life (EOL) planning factors explain racial and ethnic variation in Medicare spending during the last 6 months of life.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Health and Retirement Study (HRS).

Participants

Decedents who participated in HRS between 1998 and 2012 and previously consented to survey linkage with Medicare claims (N = 7,105).

Measurements

Total Medicare expenditures in the last 180 days of life according to race and ethnicity, controlling for demographic factors, social supports, geography, illness burden, and EOL planning factors, including presence of advance directives, discussion of EOL treatment preferences, and whether d

SUBMITTER: Byhoff E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5237584 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature