Rates of death, hospitalizations and expenditures decrease for Medicare patients
In recent decades, the United States has experienced a period of dynamic change in health care technology, health care delivery, and health behaviors. Given these changes, which could provide benefit or cause unintended harm, there is a need to assess the results that are being achieved. The Medicare fee-for-service program is ideally positioned to provide information on trends in mortality, hospitalizations, and hospitalization outcomes during this period in health care.