Examining racial and ethnic differences in health care expenditures among older adults with arthritis in the United States

Total health care expenditures were substantially lower for Hispanic and NHB patients with arthritis compared with NHW patients after adjusting for various covariates. Specifically, Hispanics and NHB patients had lower office-based and outpatient expenditures. Additionally, Hispanic patients incurred lower hospital inpatient expenditures than NHW patients. There is a need for further studies delving into finding reasons for these differences in expenditures, such as behavioral and belief systems that may limit the use of care among racial and ethnic minority groups.