Hester D, et al. - Among the Medicare population in the US, researchers evaluated the recent trends in mortality and health care utilization seen with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). From 2005 to 2014, data were collected on a sample of Medicare beneficiaries. There were 13,648 Medicare recipients with HCC in the study cohort. Although HCC rates are growing, overall mortality is dropping. Non–alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of HCC and independently predicts HCC in the outpatient setting for HCC patients in Medicare. Data reported that total charges increased from $67,679 to $99,420 for inpatients and from $11,933 to $32,084 for outpatients.