Background: Radical cystectomy is the guideline-recommended treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Recently there has been a resurgence in trimodal therapy with limited data on comparative outcomes, and especially attributable costs. Methods: A total of 3,200 patients aged 66 years or older diagnosed with clinical stage T2-4a bladder cancer from January 1, 2002- December 31, 2011 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data were analyzed. Cox regression analysis and propensity score matching methods were used to determine predictors for overall and cancer-specific survival. Results: A total of 3,200 patients met inclusion criteria. After propensity score matching, 687 patients underwent trimodal therapy and 687 patients underwent radical cystectomy. Patients who underwent trimodal therapy had significantly decreased overall (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.49, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.31-1.69, p < 0.001) and cancer-specific (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32-1.83, p < 0.001) survival, respectively. While there was no difference in costs at 30 days, median total costs were significantly higher with trimodal therapy than radical cystectomy at 90-d ($63,355 vs. $73,420, p < 0.001) and 180-d ($98,005 vs. $164,720, p < 0.001), respectively. Extrapolating these figures to the total US population results in excess spending of $179 million for trimodal therapy compared to less costly radical cystectomy for patients diagnosed in 2011. Conclusions: Trimodal therapy was associated with significantly decreased overall and cancer-specific survival resulting in excess national spending of $179 million in 2011 compared with radical cystectomy. These findings have important health policy implications regarding appropriate use of high-value based care among patients who are candidates for either treatment.