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Higher Medicare spending doesn't result in higher quality care

Case Management Weekly, April 21, 2004

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States with a higher level of Medicare spending provide a lower quality of
care, says a recent study by Health Affairs, a health policy journal.
"Intensive, costly care crowds out the use of more effective care," the
study says. The state-by-state analysis included high quality care
indicators such as, administration of beta-blockers after heart attacks,
mammograms for older women, and eye exams for diabetics. The study's
authors, two Dartmouth economics professors, found that states with more general practitioners have both more effective care and lower spending, while those with more specialists provide costlier and less effective care. "Encouraging greater access to general practitioners, or involving specialists in the provision of effective care, could improve the overall quality of care received by elderly Americans," says the study.

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