Medicare Beneficiaries Report Similar Levels Of Satisfaction With Health Care Regardless Of Variations In Spending, According To Study

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 29 May 2008 - 9:00 PST

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Variations in regional Medicare spending do not affect beneficiaries' perceptions of the care they receive, according to a study released Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Bloomberg/Tennessean reports. Medicare spending differences -- which range from an average of nearly $12,000 a year for a beneficiary in Miami to $5,700 for one in Minneapolis -- are not linked to beneficiary satisfaction, the study found.

"This is kind of the puzzle of health spending," Jonathan Skinner, co-author of the study and a Dartmouth College economist, said. Skinner added, "In areas that spend a lot of money and provide intensive care there's no consistent evidence that patients benefit. Nor do patients in low-cost areas feel deprived" (Bloomberg/Tennessean, 5/28).

An abstract of the study is available online.

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