No. of Recommendations: 6
The problem is that a small subset of 5% of the population uses 50% of the health care dollars. And 1% use 21% of health care services.
This needs to be viewed in conjunction with the following:
A significant portion of a person's total healthcare spending occurs in their final year of life, often cited as 10% to 30% of total spending, with some studies showing it's concentrated among a small percentage of people who die each year, accounting for a large chunk of Medicare costs (around 27-30%), while being around 10-12% of all healthcare spending for the entire population, heavily skewed towards inpatient and hospital care in the last months.
Key Statistics & Findings:
Overall Spending Share: Estimates vary, but often fall in the 10% to 30% range for total health spending, depending on the population studied (Medicare vs. all ages).
For Medicare: A small fraction (around 6%) of Medicare beneficiaries who die account for a disproportionately large share (27-30%) of total Medicare costs in their last year.
For the General Population: Less than 1% of the population (those dying) account for roughly 10-12% of total healthcare spending, notes the American Hospital Association.
