The McAllen, TX Lie-With-Statistics

The McAllen, TX. "case" became the foundation of an ObamaCare argument--that there was "too much" medical service rendered in 'some parts' of the USA. Grand Junction, CO., was offered as the antithesis to McAllen.

The "case" is hogwash.

Many of the disease rates for the McAllen population are more than double those for Grand Junction. If the Medicare population in McAllen is truly that much sicker wouldn’t we expect the payments to be greater? A comparison of expenditures for Medicare enrollees without a diagnosis of diabetes or heart disease in the last year shows that costs for these standard populations are statistically very close.

HT: JustOneMinute