by Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News
This article was published by Kaiser Health News.
Top 10 Regions - Fastest Growth In Spending:
Medicare spending is growing much faster in some areas of the country than others, including places that once had been reliably low-cost regions. Here are the top ten areas with the greatest annual Medicare spending growth between 2000 through 2007. The national average annual growth rate during this period was 4.7 percent.
Source: Kaiser Health News calculations of Medicare data from 306 hospital referral regions compiled by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care.
Regional Hospital Markets | Average Annual Change (2000-7) | Total Medicare reimbursements per enrollee (2000) | Total Medicare reimbursements per enrollee (2007) |
TX-McAllen | 10.3% | $8,017 | $15,695 |
UT-Provo | 8.6 | $4,616 | $8,064 |
TN-Jackson | 8.2 | $5,297 | $9,118 |
TX-Waco | 8.1 | $4,791 | $8,056 |
TX-Harlingen | 8.0 | $7,958 | $13,531 |
IL-Aurora | 7.9 | $5,367 | $8,993 |
MO-Cape Girardeau | 7.8 | $5,079 | $8,453 |
MS-Oxford | 7.7 | $5,450 | $8,951 |
MI-Muskegon | 7.7 | $4,946 | $8,249 |
FL-Miami | 7.7 | $10,404 | $17,274 |
Top 10 Regions – Greatest Increase In Services:
Medical practice patterns are changing in many areas of the country, with physicians in some regions providing increasing number of services to Medicare beneficiaries. Such transformations lead to higher expenses for Medicare without always translating to better care for the recipient. This chart shows the 10 geographic regions that saw the greatest increase in the services per beneficiary between 2000 and 2008. The median increase during this period was 13.7 percent.
Source: Government Accountability Office analysis of Medicare data of 306 hospital referral regions. Note: the services per beneficiary figure only covers Medicare beneficiaries that received at least one service in 2008; those that did not visit the doctor or hospital during the year are excluded.
Hospital Referral Region Name | Percent Increased In Services Between 2000-2008 (per beneficiary) | Number of Services in 2000 (per beneficiary) | Number of Services in 2008 (per beneficiary) |
Munster, Ind. | 28.7% | 3.61 | 4.65 |
Manhattan, NY | 28.5% | 4 | 5.13 |
Elgin, IL | 27.6% | 3.47 | 4.42 |
Covington, KY | 27.1% | 3.25 | 4.13 |
Petoskey, MI | 26.9% | 3.07 | 3.89 |
East Long Island, NY | 26.3% | 3.84 | 4.86 |
Bradenton, FL | 25.7% | 3.61 | 4.54 |
Ormond Beach, FL | 25.5% | 3.23 | 4.06 |
Royal Oak, MI | 25.4% | 3.86 | 4.83 |
Kettering, OH | 25.2% | 3.08 | 3.85 |
Related Content: "Medical Spending Spiking In Once Thrifty Areas" |
Interactive Map: Medicare Growth Rates, Reimbursements Per Enrollee
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