Table 2. Unadjusted Outcomes at 1 Year After the Index Admission, Overall and by Cost Threshold.
| Outcome | All Patients (N = 40,317) |
Patients in the Upper 5% of Medicare Costs (n = 2029) |
Patients in the Lower 95% of Medicare Costs (n = 38,288) |
P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortality | ||||
| 30 days | 3106 (7.7%) | —* | 3101 (8.1%) | |
| 90 days | 6391 (15.9%) | 56 (2.8%) | 6335 (16.6%) | < .001 |
| 180 days | 9460 (23.6%) | 212 (10.5%) | 9248 (24.3%) | < .001 |
| 1 year | 13,698 (34.4%) | 728 (36.5%) | 12,970 (34.3%) | 0.15 |
| All-cause readmission, No. (cumulative incidence) | ||||
| 30 days | 8693 (21.6) | 866 (42.7) | 7827 (20.5) | < .001 |
| 90 days | 15,765 (39.2) | 1524 (75.1) | 14,241 (37.3) | < .001 |
| 180 days | 20,924 (52.2) | 1877 (92.6) | 19,047 (50.1) | < .001 |
| 1 year | 26,100 (65.4) | 2011 (99.3) | 24,089 (63.6) | < .001 |
| Costs to Medicare at 1 year | ||||
| Inpatient | < .001 | |||
| Mean ± SD | 14,619 ± 23,866 | 86,400 ± 48,707 | 10,815 ± 13,660 | |
| Median (interquartile range) | 6400 (0-19,130) | 74,749 (59,976-98,803) | 5780 (0-16,317) | |
| Outpatient | < .001 | |||
| Mean ± SD | 2572 ± 6336 | 11,124 ± 14,447 | 2119 ± 5209 | |
| Median (interquartile range) | 599 (78-1838) | 3438 (859-19,776) | 557 (67-1675) | |
| Carrier | < .001 | |||
| Mean ± SD | 4932 ± 8643 | 19,669 ± 30,347 | 4151 ± 4215 | |
| Median (interquartile range) | 3235 (1412-6316) | 16,134 (12,162-21,674) | 3006 (1327-5695) | |
| Total Medicare cost | < .001 | |||
| Mean ± SD | 22,124 ± 30,575 | 117,193 ± 55,550 | 17,086 ± 17,792 | |
| Median (interquartile range) | 11,849 (3190-29,324) | 100,779 (86,145-127,658) | 10,721 (2861-25,445) |
*
Cell sizes less than 11 are not shown.