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Over the years, U.S. studies have suggested that black patients tend to receive more aggressive medical intervention than white patients near the end of life. In 2016, a groundswell of research confirmed those earlier observations.
In one study, researchers examined national Medicare datasets and found that, among nursing home residents dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, 32% of white patients and 43% of black patients were hospitalized during the last 30 days of life (NEJM JW Gen Med Nov 1 2016 and J Am Geriatr Soc 2016; 64:1798). In another study, investigators followed 883 female Medicare recipients who were diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer from diagnosis (between 2007 and 2011) to death. In this cohort, black women were more …