What is a key finding about Medicare spending in the final year of life as discussed in the article?

• A. All end-of-life care is beneficial and cost-effective.
• B. Most final-year spending goes to experiments with high cure rates.
• C. About 25% of Medicare spending occurs in the last year, with most of that money spent in the final months and little apparent benefit.
• D. Medicare spends equally on all phases of care during the final year.

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is how Medicare money is spent as people approach the end of life. The finding described is that about a quarter of Medicare spending happens in the last year of life, with most of that spending occurring in the final months, and much of it yielding little observable benefit in terms of extending life or improving quality of life. This highlights a mismatch between high spending and modest gains in value, prompting questions about whether aggressive end-of-life care is always aligned with patient goals and overall value. The other statements don’t fit because the article does not claim that all end-of-life care is beneficial or cost-effective, nor that most spending goes to high-cure experiments, nor that spending is spread evenly across all phases of the final year.