A study released Tuesday, May 27, 2008 in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that Medicare spending does not affect the perception of quality of medical care received.  While healthcare costs continue to rise across the nation, regional Medicare expenditures differ in excess of $6,000 a year per beneficiary between some areas in the U.S.  However, despite these differences the study did not report a positive correlation between spending and satisfaction as evidenced by a 10-question survey.  "In areas that spend a lot of money and provide intensive care there's no consistent evidence that patients benefit.  Nor do patients in low-cost areas feel deprived," says Jonathan Skinner, co-author of the study and an economist.   

 Learn more about this study.