Table 2.

Percent Distribution of Medicare Payments among Types of Service for Beneficiaries Aged 65 and Older, by Survival Status, for Selected Years, 1978–2006

	1978		1988		1997		2006
	Decedents	Survivors	Decedents	Survivors	Decedents	Survivors	Decedents	Survivors
Payments per person-year	U.S.$13,401	U.S.$1,858	U.S.$21,941	U.S.$3,259	U.S.$33,234	U.S.$5,103	U.S.$38,975	U.S.$5,993
Type of service (percent distribution)
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Inpatient hospital	76.3	64.7	69.8	53.3	56.4	44.2	50.2	37.7
Physician and other medical	17.3	27.9	20.5	34.0	17.3	28.5	18.8	5.3
Outpatient	2.6	4.3	4.8	9.1	5.4	10.1	6.8	13.0
Hospice	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.0	3.4	0.2	9.7	1.0
Skilled nursing facility	1.9	1.2	1.8	1.2	9.4	6.3	10.4	7.4
Home health	1.8	1.9	2.6	2.4	8.2	10.7	4.1	5.6

Notes: p<.05 for differences between decedents and survivors in the mix of services for each year. Standard errors for the comparison were determined by the method of random groups.

Table excludes beneficiaries enrolled in managed care at any point during the year.

Dollars are inflation adjusted to 2006 using the Consumer Price Index (Series CPI-U-RS).

For hospice enrollees, hospital, physician, and other services related to the terminal illness (except services by an attending physician not employed by the hospice) are billed and paid as hospice services.

Source: Medicare Continuous History Sample file.