Dataset Information

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Hospital Quality Ratings in the Medicare Hospital Compare Program.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provide nationwide hospital ratings that may influence reimbursement. These ratings do not account for the social risk of communities and may inadvertently penalize hospitals that service disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Objective

This study examines the relationship between neighborhood social risk factors (SRFs) and hospital ratings in Medicare's Hospital Compare Program.

Research design

2017 Medicare Hospital Compare ratings were linked with block group data from the 2015 American Community Survey to assess hospital ratings as a function of neighborhood SRFs.

Subjects

A total of 3608 Medicare-certified hospitals in 50 US states.

Measures

Hospital summary scores and 7 quality group scores (100 percentile scale), including effectiveness of care, efficiency of care, hospital readmission, mortality, patient experience, safety of care, and timeliness of care.

Results

Lower hospital summary scores were associated with caring for neighborhoods with higher social risk, including a reduction in hospital score for every 10% of residents who reported dual-eligibility for Medicare/Medicaid [-3.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI), -4.7 to -2.0], no high-school diploma (-0.8%; 95% CI, -1.5 to -0.1), unemployment (-1.2%; 95% CI, -1.9 to -0.4), black race (-1.2%; 95% CI, -1.7 to -0.8), and high travel times to work (-2.5%; 95% CI, -3.3 to -1.6). Associations between neighborhood SRFs and hospital ratings were largest in the timeliness of care, patient experience, and hospital readmission groups; and smallest in the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of care groups.

Conclusions

Hospitals serving communities with higher social risk may have lower ratings because of neighborhood factors. Failing to account for neighborhood social risk in hospital rating systems may reinforce hidden disincentives to care for medically underserved areas in the United States.

SUBMITTER: Fahrenbach J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7171595 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program uses 30-day mortality rates for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia to evaluate US hospitals, but does not account for neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage when comparing their performance.ObjectiveTo determine if neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with worse 30-day mortality rates after a hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), or pneumonia in the USA, as well as within the subset of counties with a high proportion of Black individuals.Design and participantsThis retrospective, population-based study included all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 years or older hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia between 2012 and 2015.ExposureResidence in most socioeconomically disadvantaged vs. less socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods as measured by the area deprivation index (ADI).Main measure(s)All-cause mortality within 30 days of admission.Key resultsThe study included 3,471,592 Medicare patients. Of these patients, 333,472 resided in most disadvantaged neighborhoods and 3,138,120 in less disadvantaged neighborhoods. Patients living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods were younger (78.4 vs. 80.0 years) and more likely to be Black adults (24.6% vs. 7.5%) and dually enrolled in Medicaid (39.4% vs. 21.8%). After adjustment for demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity), poverty, and clinical comorbidities, 30-day mortality was higher among beneficiaries residing in most disadvantaged neighborhoods for AMI (adjusted odds ratio 1.08, 95% CI 1.06-1.11) and pneumonia (aOR 1.05, 1.03-1.07), but not for HF (aOR 1.02, 1.00-1.04). These patterns were similar within the subset of US counties with a high proportion of Black adults (AMI, aOR 1.07, 1.03-1.11; HF 1.02, 0.99-1.05; pneumonia 1.03, 1.00-1.07).ConclusionsNeighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with higher 30-day mortality for some conditions targeted by value-based programs, even after accounting for individual-level demographics, clinical comorbidities, and poverty. These findings may have implications as policymakers weigh strategies to advance health equity under value-based programs.