Table 1. Characteristics of Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries With Serious Illness Who Died in 2017 or 2018, by ACP Grouping.
| Characteristic | ACP group, No. (%)a | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (N = 955 777) | No ACP (n = 851 842) | ACP >30 d before death (n = 81 131) | ACP ≤30 d before death (n = 22 804) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 522 737 (54.7) | 465 286 (54.6) | 45 365 (55.9) | 12 086 (53.0) |
| Male | 433 040 (45.3) | 386 556 (45.4) | 35 766 (44.1) | 10 718 (47.0) |
| Age, y | ||||
| 65-69 | 76 213 (8.0) | 68 553 (8.0) | 5869 (7.2) | 1791 (7.9) |
| 70-74 | 114 898 (12.0) | 102 615 (12.0) | 9461 (11.7) | 2822 (12.4) |
| 75-79 | 141 054 (14.8) | 125 621 (14.7) | 11 814 (14.6) | 3619 (15.9) |
| 80-84 | 170 171 (17.8) | 151 330 (17.8) | 14 621 (18.0) | 4220 (18.5) |
| 85-89 | 196 460 (20.6) | 174 475 (20.5) | 17 139 (21.1) | 4846 (21.3) |
| 90-94 | 168 112 (17.6) | 149 566 (17.6) | 14 769 (18.2) | 3777 (16.6) |
| ≥95 | 88 869 (9.3) | 79 682 (9.4) | 7458 (9.2) | 1729 (7.6) |
| Race and ethnicity | ||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 822 684 (86.1) | 734 714 (86.3) | 68 535 (84.5) | 19 435 (85.2) |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 87 178 (9.1) | 77 123 (9.1) | 7931 (9.8) | 2124 (9.3) |
| Hispanic | 14 634 (1.5) | 12 787 (1.5) | 1465 (1.8) | 382 (1.7) |
| Asian | 12 781 (1.3) | 10 934 (1.3) | 1471 (1.8) | 376 (1.6) |
| Otherb | 15 194 (1.6) | 13 381 (1.6) | 1416 (1.7) | 397 (1.7) |
| Unknown | 3306 (0.3) | 2903 (0.3) | 313 (0.4) | 90 (0.4) |
| CCI in the last 6 mo of life | ||||
| 0 | 12 396 (1.3) | 11 603 (1.4) | 761 (0.9) | 32 (0.1) |
| 1 | 49 806 (5.2) | 45 906 (5.4) | 3526 (4.3) | 374 (1.6) |
| 2 | 79 017 (8.3) | 72 471 (8.5) | 5647 (7.0) | 899 (3.9) |
| 3 | 94 476 (9.9) | 86 014 (10.1) | 6983 (8.6) | 1479 (6.5) |
| 4 | 102 809 (10.8) | 92 794 (10.9) | 8061 (9.9) | 1954 (8.6) |
| ≥5 | 611 612 (64.0) | 537 700 (63.1) | 55 846 (68.8) | 18 066 (79.2) |
| No claims | 5661 (0.6) | 5354 (0.6) | 307 (0.4) | 0 |
| Dual-eligibility status | ||||
| No | 642 903 (67.3) | 572 213 (67.2) | 54 719 (67.4) | 15 971 (70.0) |
| Yes | 312 874 (32.7) | 279 629 (32.8) | 26 412 (32.6) | 6833 (30.0) |
| HRR median Medicare spending level | ||||
| Low | 141 971 (14.9) | 127 100 (14.9) | 11 337 (14.0) | 3534 (15.5) |
| Medium | 527 555 (55.2) | 471 855 (55.4) | 43 293 (53.4) | 12 407 (54.4) |
| High | 286 251 (29.9) | 252 887 (29.7) | 26 501 (32.7) | 6863 (30.1) |
Abbreviations: ACP, advance care planning; CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; HRR, hospital referral region.
a
Percentages have been rounded and may not total 100.
b
Specific racial and ethnic categories were unavailable.