Medical expenditures of terminal cancer patients during the last year of life.

To measure the patterns of medical expenditures under conventional modes of cancer care for the terminally ill, we examined Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan claims records for care during the 12 months preceding the deaths of 1,054 nonelderly patients diagnosed as having breast, colon-rectal, or lung cancer. Expenditures averaged +21,219 for the terminal year and grew exponentially as death approached, with +6,161 (29%) being spent in the final month alone. We found very few significant differences in spending or utilization by diagnosis, age, or sex of the terminal patient, but sizable differences by state of residence and between nonmetropolitan and metropolitan area residents. Our findings represent a baseline against which experience under new hospital payment strategies and alternative delivery systems might be compared.