Health Care Spending and Service Use among High-Cost Medicaid Beneficiaries, 2002—2004

Using program administrative data, this paper examines spending and service use patterns for the national Medicaid population between 2002 and 2004, with a focus on high-cost beneficiaries. We observed a high degree of spending persistence: 57.9% of those who were among the top 10% of Medicaid spend...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Inquiry (Chicago) 2009-12, Vol.46 (4), p.405-417
Main Authors: Coughlin, Teresa A., Long, Sharon K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Analysis
Beneficiaries
Child
Child, Preschool
Chronic Disease - economics
Consumer spending
Continental Population Groups - statistics & numerical data
Cost
Costs
Diabetes
Economic aspects
Female
Health care costs
Health care economics
Health care expenditures
Health Expenditures - statistics & numerical data
Health Expenditures - trends
Health insurance industry
Health Services - economics
Health Services - trends
Health Services - utilization
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Institutional care
Laws, regulations and rules
Low income groups
Male
Medicaid
Medicaid - economics
Medicaid - statistics & numerical data
Medicaid - trends
Medicaid program
Medical conditions
Medical economics
Medical service
Medicare
Mental illness
Middle Aged
Sex Distribution
Studies
United States
Young Adult
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Description
Summary:Using program administrative data, this paper examines spending and service use patterns for the national Medicaid population between 2002 and 2004, with a focus on high-cost beneficiaries. We observed a high degree of spending persistence: 57.9% of those who were among the top 10% of Medicaid spenders in 2002 remained in the top 10% of spenders in the two subsequent years. We identified two distinct subgroups of high spenders—those with persistently high costs and those with episodically high costs—each with different services driving their costs.
ISSN:0046-9580
1945-7243
DOI:10.5034/inquiryjrnl_46.4.405