In 2015, Hawaii spent $6,608 per traditional Medicare beneficiary, but Mississippi spent $10,700. Nationwide, Medicare per capita costs amounted to $9,582, CMS data released Tuesday show. Why the difference? Medicare spending, utilization and quality vary widely across states, a phenomenon that is longstanding but remains poorly understood.
These fluctuations by geography do not seem to reflect beneficiaries’ health, the CMS noted in its methodology document for the data, which are released annually in what is formally known as the Geographic Public Use File.
