Variation in use of medical care services: higher risk or higher consumption?

The issue of variation in use of medical care is important in Florida and in other regions of the country. It is difficult to disaggregate the effects of differences in health risk of Medicare beneficiaries from physicians' practice patterns and patients' preferences for care. New risk-adjustment methods used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may provide some insights, but they also raise similar questions about the influence of practice patterns on variation.