Table. Patient Characteristics and Primary Care Spending Among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries in 2015.
| Characteristic | Primary Care Practitioner Definition, % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narrowa | Broadb | |||
| Narrow Primary Care Servicesc | All Professional Services | Narrow Primary Care Servicesc | All Professional Services | |
| Age, y | ||||
| 65-69 | 2.28 | 3.92 | 2.92 | 5.15 |
| 70-74 | 2.28 | 3.97 | 2.86 | 5.12 |
| 75-79 | 2.19 | 3.90 | 2.71 | 4.96 |
| 80-84 | 2.03 | 3.73 | 2.52 | 4.71 |
| >85 | 1.76 | 3.38 | 2.24 | 4.34 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 2.15 | 3.87 | 2.60 | 4.82 |
| Female | 2.11 | 3.74 | 2.72 | 4.92 |
| Race/ethnicityd | ||||
| White | 2.13 | 3.82 | 2.70 | 4.96 |
| Black | 1.76 | 3.28 | 2.21 | 4.15 |
| Asian | 3.04 | 4.73 | 3.35 | 5.30 |
| Hispanic | 2.18 | 3.70 | 2.57 | 4.42 |
| North American Native | 1.51 | 3.02 | 2.16 | 4.23 |
| Other | 2.61 | 4.25 | 2.99 | 4.99 |
| Unknown | 2.61 | 4.27 | 3.14 | 5.31 |
| Dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid | ||||
| Yes | 1.64 | 3.23 | 2.16 | 4.23 |
| No | 2.32 | 4.02 | 2.88 | 5.14 |
| Chronic conditions | ||||
| Acute myocardial infarction | 1.30 | 2.90 | 1.66 | 3.70 |
| Alzheimer disease | 1.40 | 2.99 | 1.99 | 4.11 |
| Alzheimer disease and related disorders or senile dementia | 1.40 | 3.02 | 1.90 | 4.03 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1.54 | 3.15 | 1.95 | 4.04 |
| Cataract | 2.07 | 3.74 | 2.61 | 4.81 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 1.53 | 3.11 | 1.94 | 3.99 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 1.66 | 3.32 | 2.12 | 4.25 |
| Congestive heart failure | 1.49 | 3.09 | 1.90 | 3.95 |
| Diabetes | 1.91 | 3.55 | 2.37 | 4.47 |
| Glaucoma | 2.06 | 3.66 | 2.56 | 4.65 |
| Hip or pelvic fracture | 1.08 | 2.54 | 1.46 | 3.41 |
| Ischemic heart disease | 1.79 | 3.40 | 2.24 | 4.33 |
| Depression | 1.73 | 3.33 | 2.28 | 4.41 |
| Osteoporosis | 1.88 | 3.54 | 2.40 | 4.59 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis | 1.97 | 3.61 | 2.49 | 4.68 |
| Stroke or transient ischemic attack | 1.55 | 3.19 | 1.99 | 4.10 |
| Cancer | ||||
| Breast | 1.75 | 3.20 | 2.27 | 4.23 |
| Colorectal | 1.48 | 3.06 | 1.86 | 3.89 |
| Prostate | 1.85 | 3.41 | 2.23 | 4.28 |
| Lung | 1.12 | 2.49 | 1.42 | 3.18 |
| Endometrial | 1.54 | 3.00 | 2.10 | 4.19 |
| Anemia | 1.76 | 3.35 | 2.22 | 4.31 |
| Asthma | 1.66 | 3.32 | 2.11 | 4.26 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 2.13 | 3.80 | 2.66 | 4.86 |
| Benign prostatic hyperplasia | 2.04 | 3.76 | 2.46 | 4.67 |
| Hypertension | 2.06 | 3.71 | 2.58 | 4.75 |
| Hypothyroidism | 1.98 | 3.64 | 2.51 | 4.68 |
| Primary care spending | ||||
| Per beneficiary, $ | 308.32 | 550.62 | 387.79 | 708.23 |
| Fraction of total medical and prescription spendinge | 2.12 | 3.79 | 2.67 | 4.88 |
Includes family practice, internal medicine, pediatric medicine, and general practice.
Includes family practice, internal medicine, pediatric medicine, general practice, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, geriatric medicine, and gynecology.
Includes Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes on professional claims including evaluation and management visits, preventive visits, care transition or coordination services, and in-office preventive services, screening, and counseling.
All race/ethnicity variables in this analysis are from the Master Beneficiary Summary File (variable name BENE_RACE_CD).
In 2015, for the selected population, mean per capita total medical and prescription spending was $14 519 ($11 596 in medical spending and $2913 in prescription spending).