Medicare Spending on End-of-Life Care Varies Greatly

A report released Monday by Dartmouth researchers found that spending on Medicare patients with chronic illnesses varies greatly, which raises the possibility that Medicare could save billions of dollars annually. For example, total Medicare spending in the last two years of life ranges from an average of $93,843 for patients who receive most of their care at UCLA Medical Center to $53,432 at the Mayo Clinic's main teaching hospital in Minnesota.

• "Researchers Find Huge Variations in End-of-Life Treatment" (Pear, New York Times, 4/7).