The value of late-in-life health care spending Study debunks notion that large chunks of Medicare go to futile end-of-life care.

The value of late-in-life health care spending

Study debunks notion that large chunks of Medicare go to futile end-of-life care.

Around 25 percent of Medicare spending in the U.S. occurs in the last year of people’s lives. This is sometimes discussed as a questionable use of resources: Is society throwing large amounts of medical treatment at some patients in a futile, if noble, effort to extend lives that are bound to end soon?  A new study co-authored by an MIT health care economist offers a resounding answer: No.