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Medicare spending per enrollee

What Medicare spent per person in a year, for people in traditional Medicare, where Medicare pays each doctor and hospital bill itself. Medicare pays more for the same care where wages and rents are high. This figure takes those price gaps out, so it shows how much care people used, not what it cost locally. It is not adjusted for how sick people are. It leaves out people in private Medicare Advantage plans.

Reported for3,143areas, in 51 states — none in PR
Link to density0.07not mostly about how urban a place is
Nearby places alike0.57Moran’s I: strongly, neighbouring places tend to be similar
TyperateUS$ per enrollee

How it has moved

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Every state, every year

One row per state and one column per year, sorted by the latest value. It shows states, not counties: nobody can scan 3,222 rows, and the pattern only shows when it all fits on one screen.

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Where it comes from

CMS Medicare Geographic Variation Public Use File · CMS Medicare Geographic Variation PUF, national/state/county, all ages, TOT_MDCR_STDZD_PYMT_PC

Adjusted by CMS to take out local differences in prices, so it shows how much care was used. It covers only people in traditional Medicare, where Medicare pays each bill itself. People in private Medicare Advantage plans are left out. When areas are combined, places with more people in traditional Medicare count for more.

Combining areas: an average weighted by MEDICARE.FFS_ENROLLEES.

What it goes with

The strongest links that have a page of their own. Unadjusted is the link before adjusting for anything, from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step). Adjusted compares places with the same population density, income and education levels, so those differences can’t explain the link. This list leaves out the 3 pairs built from the same numbers or the same model as this measure, since they are bound to match.

MeasureUnadjustedAdjusted
Medicare spending per enrollee and Summer daily highWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Summer daily high tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Summer daily high by US county+0.55+0.51
Medicare spending per enrollee and Average temperatureWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Average temperature tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Average temperature by US county+0.53+0.48
Medicare spending per enrollee and No leisure-time physical activityWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, No leisure-time physical activity tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. No leisure-time physical activity by US county+0.46+0.42
Medicare spending per enrollee and Taking blood pressure medicationWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Taking blood pressure medication tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Taking blood pressure medication by US county+0.46+0.39
Medicare spending per enrollee and Preventable hospital staysWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Preventable hospital stays tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Preventable hospital stays by US county+0.43+0.36
Medicare spending per enrollee and Health scoreWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Health score tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Health score by US county-0.39-0.35
Medicare spending per enrollee and Land surface form (flat to mountainous)Where Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Land surface form (flat to mountainous) tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Land surface form (flat to mountainous) by US county-0.37-0.35
Medicare spending per enrollee and Motor vehicle crash deathsWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Motor vehicle crash deaths tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Motor vehicle crash deaths by US county+0.32+0.35
Medicare spending per enrollee and Winter nightly lowWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Winter nightly low tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Winter nightly low by US county+0.40+0.34
Medicare spending per enrollee and High blood pressureWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, High blood pressure tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. High blood pressure by US county+0.42+0.34

7 more pairs with Medicare spending per enrollee have a page: Diagnosed diabetes · Dental visit in the past year · Returns claiming the earned income credit · Mobility disability · Expected yearly tornado loss · High cholesterol · People per tax return.

Population makeup

How this measure varies with the racial and ethnic makeup of counties. Every group is shown, whatever its rank. These are links across counties: they describe places, not people. They say nothing about any person’s risk or behaviour based on their race. Counties with a larger share of one group also differ in much else, such as income, segregation, region and history. The adjusted figure only accounts for density, income and education.

Share of residentsUnadjustedAdjusted
Medicare spending per enrollee and Share White, not HispanicWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Share White, not Hispanic tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share White, not Hispanic by US county-0.28-0.26
Medicare spending per enrollee and Share Black, not HispanicWhere Medicare spending per enrollee is higher, Share Black, not Hispanic tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share Black, not Hispanic by US county+0.33+0.25
Medicare spending per enrollee and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county+0.15+0.16
Medicare spending per enrollee and Share Asian, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Asian, not Hispanic by US county-0.06-0.00
Medicare spending per enrollee and Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic by US county+0.07+0.12

Highest and lowest

Of 3,143 counties reporting it. These are the two ends of a national ranking. For most measures, that ranking mostly sorts places by income and how urban they are. That is why the place pages compare each place with similar places instead.

Highest

  1. Miller County, GA — 27,129
  2. Hamilton County, KS — 24,463
  3. Greer County, OK — 22,580
  4. Oglala Lakota County, SD — 21,799
  5. Loving County, TX — 21,063

Lowest

  1. Copper River Census Area, AK — 5,333
  2. Judith Basin County, MT — 5,754
  3. Denali Borough, AK — 5,917
  4. Yakutat City and Borough, AK — 6,205
  5. Arthur County, NE — 6,331

The middle area reports 11,477. The middle half of counties falls between 10,460 and 12,649 (the 25th to 75th percentile).

US Counties With the Highest Medicare Spending per Enrollee · US Counties With the Lowest Medicare Spending per Enrollee

All measures · Explore its pairs · How the US county data works