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.
Authors

CPP Co-Director
Eric is the Montague Burton Professor of Industrial Relations and Labour Economics at the University of Cambridge and Professor of Economics at UCL.

Senior Research Economist
Elaine works in the Public Finance and Pensions sector and she joined the IFS in 2009 and became a member of the research staff in 2011.

John Bailey Jones

Research Associate University of Bristol
Jeremy is a Research Associate at IFS and an Assistant Professor at the University of Bristol with particular interest in public economics and health.
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2018.1818
- Publisher
- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Suggested citation
Bailey Jones, J et al. (2018). End-of-Life Medical Expenses. London: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/end-life-medical-expenses (accessed: 9 February 2025).
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