End-of-Life Medical Expenses

French, Eric; Jones, John Bailey; Kelly, Elaine; McCauley, Jeremy

Working Paper

End-of-Life Medical Expenses

Abstract: In this review, we document end-of-life medical spending: its level, composition, funding, and contribution to aggregate medical spending. We discuss how end-of-life expenses affect household behavior and economic evidence on the efficacy of medical spending at the end of life. Finally, we document recent trends in health and chronic disease at older ages and discuss what they might imply for end-of-life spending and medical spending in the aggregate.

Keywords: medical spending; household behavior;