Five Louisiana parishes are among the 20 counties in the country with the highest Medicare per capita spending in the country.

A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation puts St. Tammany Parish as the highest area on the list from Louisiana, at No. 10 in the nation with Medicare spending at $11,146 in 2013, the latest data available.

Bossier Parish is at No. 16 on the list at $10,918 in medicare spending.

The 20 highest-spending counties and parishes have significantly more post-acute care providers _ skilled nursing facilities and home health care services _ per capita and significantly fewer physicians than the 20 lowest-spending counties.

Tangipahoa was No. 12 at $11,066; followed by Rapides, No. 14 at $10,938; and Ouachita, No. 19, at $10.891.

The figures were adjusted to account for differences in Medicare prices and beneficiaries' health risk.

We're trying to figure out why Bossier Parish is so high on the list, and the only conclusion we can come up with is the high number of military retirees who decide to live in our community.

The average U.S. spending is $9,343.

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