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. 1999 Winter;21(2):281–286.

Figure 2. Medicare Health Care Expenditures, by Type of Service, 1996.

Figure 2

  • The largest portion of health care dollars for Medicare beneficiaries is spent on hospital care (both inpatient and outpatient). Hospital care accounts for 38 percent of spending for the Medicare population and 39 percent of spending at the national level.
  • While only 7 percent of Medicare beneficiaries spent some or all of the year in a skilled or long-term care facility in 1996, institutional costs for those beneficiaries were the second largest expense for the Medicare population. Nearly $90 million was spent for institutional care in 1996 for Medicare beneficiaries; $75 million was for long-term care.
  • Prescription drug costs constitute about 7 percent of personal health costs for the Medicare population as well as the Nation.