Health Affairs, 25, no. 2 (2006): w34-w47 (Published online 7 February 2006) doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.25.w34 © 2006 by Project HOPE	New Online   Pay Cuts For Medicare Docs   Access To Care Woes   Public Coverage More Efficient   Empowering Consumers

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MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Is Technological Change In Medicine Always Worth It? The Case Of Acute Myocardial Infarction

We examine Medicare costs and survival gains for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) during 1986–2002. As David Cutler and Mark McClellan did in earlier work, we find that overall gains in post-AMI survival more than justified the increases in costs during this period. Since 1996, however, survival gains have stagnated, while spending has continued to increase. We also consider changes in spending and outcomes at the regional level. Regions experiencing the largest spending gains were not those realizing the greatest improvements in survival. Factors yielding the greatest benefits to health were not the factors that drove up costs, and vice versa.

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