A large body of research suggests that geographic variation accounts for the differences in Medicare spending. In this editorial, Reschovsky reviews findings from his HCFO-funded study and other work to demonstrate that while there are clear variations in clinical practice across geographic areas, the degree of variation and the importance of geography have been overstated.
Research from the Dartmouth Atlas finds that that after adjusting for area differences in Medicare payment levels and patient health, very wide geographical disparities in costs remain. In this editorial, James Reschovsky, Ph.D. reviews findings from his HCFO-funded study and other work, which has shown that that after controlling for variations in Medicare payment and case-mix, population health accounts for at least 75 to 85 percent of the remaining variation in Medicare spending.