Medicare patient mortality, hospitalizations, and expenditures down

Editor's Note

Deaths, hospital stays, and spending all decreased for Medicare patients from 1999 to 2013, this study finds.

In 1999, the all-cause mortality rate was 5.3%, and by 2013 that rate had fallen to 4.5%. Hospitalizations decreased from around 35,000 per 100,000 annually to 27,000 per 100,000. Inpatient inflation-adjusted spending dropped from about $3,300 per person to $2,800.

In the last 6 months of life, the number of hospitalizations decreased from 131 to 103 per 100 deaths. The percentage of patients with one or more hospitalizations decreased from 71 to 57 per 100 deaths.

Importance In a period of dynamic change in health care technology, delivery, and behaviors, tracking trends in health and health care can provide a perspective on what is being achieved. Objective To comprehensively describe national trends in mortality, hospitalizations, and expenditures in the Medicare fee-for-service population between 1999 and 2013.