County-Level Variation in Per Capita Spending for Multiple Chronic Conditions Among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries, United States, 2014

The prevalence of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older with 6 or more concurrent chronic conditions (MCC6+) varies geographically (1). Preventing chronic disease costs less than treating it. Chronic diseases that are well managed progress slower than those that are untreated (2). Thus, understanding how Medicare spending is distributed across the United States among older adults with the highest burden of multiple chronic conditions can assist with targeting prevention and disease management efforts. The objective of this analysis was to describe the county-level variation in per capita Medicare spending among MCC6+ beneficiaries.