Malignant tumors have become a major public health problem and their treatment cost is increasing rapidly in China, but treatment aimed at healing diseases or extending patients’ life. There is little empirical research on utilization of healthcare resources of terminally ill cancer patients. In order to explore the optimal treatment decision for patients and provide information for relevant decision makers, this study analyzed the consumption status of medical resources in patients with cancer during the whole treatment period, and the current medical resource utilization efficiency in different levels of hospital for end-stage cancer patients.

This study was based on the clinical treatment and payment data of 2,536 cases of patients with lung cancer from the medical insurance database during the period of 2007 to 2014 in Hubei province. We retrospectively analyzed patients’ medical expenditure and utilization of different medical resources during their whole treatment period as well as at the end stage.

The per capita inpatient expenditures of patients under 50 years old was 193,000 CNY (27,451 USD), while that of the patients over 70 years were 80,000–90,000 CNY (11,379–12,802 USD). Secondly, the medical expenditures spent during the last 6 months of life accounted for 66.1 percent of the total expenditures. Lastly, the medical expenditure spent in tertiary hospitals accounted for 95.3 percent of the total expenditure, and the expenditure was 14,200 ± 17,030 CNY (2,019.82 ± 2,422.36 USD) per visit.

Population aging is not the only factor causing the rise of medical expenditure. The unclear objectives of treatment and the reverse of medical resource allocation are also important factors to boost the growth of medical expenditure. It is necessary to improve the healthcare insurance payment system, strengthen the capacity of primary medical institutions, and develop the palliative care system in China.