New HCFO Grant

Title: Pilot Study of Variations in Medicare Spending per Beneficiary
Grantee Institution: The Urban Institute
Principal Investigator: Jack Hadley, Ph.D.
Grant Period: May 01, 2005 - April 30, 2006
Email: jhadley@ui.urban.org
Awarded: $135,495.00

Does variation in medical care spending by individual elderly Medicare beneficiaries influence their health? This pilot project will identify policy, patient, and market factors that influence individuals’ Medicare and total health care spending. The researchers will focus primarily on identifying whether there are factors that have a significant impact on medical spending and are arguably independent of health status. Such factors could be used to construct an instrumental variable for medical care spending in a follow-on study. This research will provide a better understanding of the influence of factors that affect individual health care spending so policymakers can develop incentives to reduce “unnecessary” spending without harming beneficiaries’ health.
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