Differences in hospitalizations among seasonal migrants, adjacent-state and in-state aged Medicare beneficiaries.

Seasonal migration of elderly persons from northern states to southern "retirement havens" has been examined in several studies.-3 Although these studies raise questions concerning the health service utilization patterns of seasonal migrants (commonly referred to as "snowbirds,") little is known about their health services use because of the scarcity of available data to define and track seasonal migrant populations. Elderly seasonal migrants, like permanent elderly migrants, are assumed to have higher incomes, higher education and better health and are, thus, less likely to require hospitalization or use of ambulatory health care than their non-migrant peers.2-4 Relatively few studies have examined the health care utilization of seasonal migrants to verify these assumptions. Most studies of elderly seasonal migration have been smallscale efforts based upon non-systematic samples of convenient, accessible popula-