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New Jersey Ranks First in the Nation in Medicare Spending for Chronically Ill During Last Two Years of Life, 2006
Source: Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare 2006

* See below for a commentary on how these statistics can affect your business

Rank State Amount   Rank State Amount
             
1 NEW JERSEY
$39,810   26 Nebraska
$25,838
2 California
$38,573   27 North Carolina $25,829
3 New York $38,369   28 Kansas
$25,740
4 Maryland $36,337   29 Arkansas
$25,724
5 Hawaii $33,518   30 New Hampshire
$25,706
6 Connecticut
$32,636   31 Mississippi
$25,705
7 Massachusetts
$31,985   32 Missouri
$25,681
8 Alaska
$31,957   33 Oregon $25,509
9 Illinois
$31,197   34 Virginia
$25,435
10 Florida
$29,604   35 Alabama
$25,344
11 Rhode Island
$29,028   36 Oklahoma
$25,227
12 Pennsylvania
$28,487   37 Maine $25,196
13 Texas $28,466   38 Wisconsin $25,343
14 Delaware
$28,450   39 Wyoming $25,173
15 Michigan
$28,427   40 Montana $25,056
16 Nevada
$27,950   41 Kentucky $25,012
17 Arizona
$27,843   42 Ohio
$25,005
18 Washington
$27,698   43 New Mexico
$24,616
19 Minnesota
$27,411   44 South Dakota
$24,072
20 South Carolina
$27,095   45 Utah
$23,936
21 Vermont
$27,050   46 Indiana
$23,874
22 Louisiana
$26,830   47 North Dakota $23,855
23 Tennessee $26,464   48 West Virginia
$23,789
24
Georgia
$26,267   49 Iowa
$23,746
25 Colorado $25,888   50 Idaho $23,697
             
          50 State Average
$27,826
          N.J. % Above Average 43%

View all State Stats

 
.bullet A CLOSER LOOK
 

NJ'S MEDICARE SPENDING FOR CHRONICALLY ILL PATIENTS DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS OF LIFE IS THE HIGHEST IN THE NATION

New Jersey's Medicare spending for chronically ill patients during the last two years of their life is ranked as the highest in the country, according to a study by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Although New Jersey on average spends more per patient than any other state, patient care has not been shown to be significantly better than state's who spend as much as 40% less. The study did not find any correlation between high spending rates and increased life expectancies or improved quality of life for patients. In fact, state's who spent the most � New Jersey, the District of Columbia, California, New York, and Maryland � had higher mortality rates and lower patient quality of life marks. Researchers attributed the inverse relationship to more medical mistakes. This is because more frequent physician visits, longer hospital stays, and increased use of specialists causing fragmented care and poor communication can actually increase error.

Not only are costs the highest, but New Jersey's patients had the most doctor visits in the last six months of their lives � 41.5 contrasted with Utah's 17� and had more patients die in intensive care units than in any other state. Also the highest in the nation, of all chronically ill patients in the state, 38.7% saw 10 or more physicians during the last six months of their lives compared with only 10.8% in Wyoming. New Jersey patients also spent nearly twice as many days in the hospital � 15.2 � when compared with the lowest states while fewer patients were enrolled in hospice when compared with the national average.

In response to the report New Jersey Health Commissioner Fred Jacobs echoed the need to reform the efficiency of hospitals in New Jersey. �We can't say our patients are sicker. That won't fly. We can't say this is because we have too many specialists. That's part of the problem�We are notoriously inefficient and we have to look at not just the hospital process but the medical staff process.� *

Nationally, concern is growing among medical researchers about the way chronic illness is managed. Because there is no consensus based on medical science guiding decisions about the use of resources in managing patients with severe chronic illness, the extent and degree of treatments vary widely from hospital to hospital. Nonetheless, the report suggests that many chronically ill and dying Americans across the country are receiving overly aggressive care during the last months of their lives.

 

* �End-of-life care in N.J. is priciest but not best,� Carol Ann Campbell, Star-Ledger, May 17, 2006

Source: Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare 2006, the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences Dartmouth Medical School

   
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