Rural-Urban Differences in Health Care Expenditures: Empirical Data from US Households
Table 1
Comparisons of weighted individual expenditure distributions by residence and type of service, MEPS 2010.
Weighted mean (SE) or percentage
Urban
Rural
value
(N = 19,561)
(N = 3,211)
Outpatient care
Include zero ($)
1252.7 (43.3)
1306.2 (62.2)
0.4826
Exclude zero ($)
1852.5 (60.7)
1893.5 (81.6)
0.6854
Zero users (%)
32.4%
31.0%
0.5458
Lower half of cumulative sum (%)
63.1%
64.2%
Higher half of cumulative sum (%)
4.5%
4.8%
Hospital inpatient care
Include zero ($)
1602.8 (90.8)
1574.7 (160.4)
0.8775
Exclude zero ($)
18838.5 (853.9)
15747.0 (1293.7)
0.0538
Zero users (%)
91.5%
90.0%
0.0853
Lower half of cumulative sum (%)
7.3%
8.3%
Higher half of cumulative sum (%)
1.2%
1.7%
Hospital emergency room
Include zero ($)
187.1 (9.8)
163.4 (19.1)
0.2870
Exclude zero ($)
1636.4 (76.4)
1167.4 (113.0)
0.0011
Zero users (%)
88.6%
86.0%
0.0087
Lower half of cumulative sum (%)
10.4%
12.5%
Higher half of cumulative sum (%)
1.1%
1.5%
Prescription drugs
Include zero ($)
1061.4 (31.0)
1278.3 (71.7)
0.0073
Exclude zero ($)
1611.5 (43.8)
1741.7 (93.6)
0.2187
Zero users (%)
34.1%
26.6%
<0.0001
Lower half of cumulative sum (%)
60.9%
66.3%
Higher half of cumulative sum (%)
4.9%
7.0%
Total expenditures
Include zero ($)
4929.5 (123.1)
5172.3 (269.2)
0.4136
Exclude zero ($)
5867.1 (143.2)
6007.2 (307.6)
0.6788
Zero users (%)
16.0%
13.9%
0.0521
Lower half of cumulative sum (%)
78.3%
79.3%
Higher half of cumulative sum (%)
5.7%
6.8%
Note: the last item “total expenditures” is not the sum of the above four services but the overall healthcare expenditure of each individual who might also use other services such as dental care.
