A Nationwide Assessment of the Association of Smoking Bans and Cigarette Taxes With Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction, Heart Failure, and Pneumonia.

Multiple studies claim that public place smoking bans are associated with reductions in smoking-related hospitalization rates. No national study using complete hospitalization counts by area that accounts for contemporaneous controls including state cigarette taxes has been conducted. We examine the association between county-level smoking-related hospitalization rates and comprehensive smoking bans in 28 states from 2001 to 2008. Differences-in-differences analysis measures changes in hospitalization rates before versus after introducing bans in bars, restaurants, and workplaces, controlling for cigarette taxes, adjusting for local health and provider characteristics. Smoking bans were not associated with acute myocardial infarction or heart failure hospitalizations, but lowered pneumonia hospitalization rates for persons ages 60 to 74 years. Higher cigarette taxes were associated with lower heart failure hospitalizations for all ages and fewer pneumonia hospitalizations for adults aged 60 to 74. Previous studies may have overestimated the relation between smoking bans and hospitalizations and underestimated the effects of cigarette taxes.

Measuring the cost implications of the Collaborative Accountable Care initiative in Texas.

OBJECTIVES: We analyzed changes in healthcare spending associated with the implementation of Cigna's Collaborative Accountable Care (CAC) initiative in a large multi-clinic physician practice. STUDY DESIGN: We compared claims from 2009, prior to the CAC initiative, against claims for 2010 to 2011, contrasting the patients covered by Cigna's CAC initiative with patients in other practices in the same geographic area covered by Cigna's medical plan. METHODS: We used a propensity weighted difference-in-differences approach, adjusting for age, sex, health status, and secular trends to isolate the treatment effect of the CAC. RESULTS: The CAC initiative resulted in a 5.7% reduction in net spending per patient for 2010 to 2011, relative to what spending would have been without the initiative. This reduced spending was evident in multiple service categories: evaluation and management, procedures, imaging, tests, and durable medical equipment. Professional payments, inpatient facility, and outpatient facility payments for Medical Clinic of North Texas enrollees all experienced significant cost savings relative to the control group. About half of the savings resulted from using lower-priced sources. CONCLUSIONS: The CAC initiative, which includes an embedded care coordinator and a list of recommended providers, was associated with cost savings similar to those reported by other initiatives, such as global budgets and risk-based contracts.

Regional differences in recommended cancer treatment for the elderly.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about regional variation in cancer treatment and its determinants. We compare rates of adherence to treatment guidelines for elderly patients across Texas and whether local specialist supply is an important determinant of treatment variation. METHODS: Previous literature reviewed indicated 7 recommended courses of treatment for colorectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. We analyzed Texas Cancer Registry data linked with Medicare claims for the years 2004 to 2007 to study patients with these cancers. We tested for unadjusted and adjusted differences in treatment rates across 22 hospital referral regions (HRR). We tested whether variation in the local supply of specialists treating each cancer was an important determinant of treatment. RESULTS: We found significant differences in adjusted treatment rates across regions. For removal and examination of 12+ lymph nodes with colon cancer resection, 13 of 22 HRRs had rates significantly different from the median region. For adjuvant chemotherapy for regional colon cancer, five HRRs significantly differed from the median. For prostate cancer treatment with a favorable diagnosis, nine HRRs differed from the median HRR. Of the 7 treatments, only the local availability of surgeons was an important determinant for excision of lymph nodes for colon cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant variations across Texas for seven recommended cancer treatments. No one region has consistently higher or lower treatments than other regions, and local specialist supply is not an important predictor of treatment. Different factors may be determining regional variation in treatment rates across cancer types and treatment options.

State deregulation and Medicare costs for acute cardiac care.

Past literature suggests that Certificate of Need (CON) regulations for cardiac care were ineffective in improving quality, but less is known about the effect of CON on patient costs. We analyzed Medicare data for 1991-2002 to test whether states that dropped CON experienced changes in costs or reimbursements for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery or percutaneous coronary interventions. We found that states that dropped CON experienced lower costs per patient for CABG but not for percutaneous coronary intervention. Average Medicare reimbursement was lower for both procedures in states that dropped CON. The cost savings from removing CON regulations slightly exceed the total fixed costs of new CABG facilities that entered after deregulation. Assuming continued cost savings past 2002, the savings from deregulating CABG surgery outweigh the fixed costs of new entry. Thus, CON regulations for CABG may not be justified in terms of either improving quality or controlling cost growth.

Comparing the validity of different measures of illness severity: a hospital-level analysis for acute myocardial infarction.

The aim of the study is to assess the validity of three measures of illness severity (prior year's hospital expenditures, Charlson and Elixhauser indices), by analysing the effect of introducing report cards on hospitals treating patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Medicare claims data were obtained for 1992-1997 for AMI patients aged 65+. We used differences-in-differences regression analysis to assess the impact of report cards introduced in New Jersey and Pennsylvania on the illness severity of AMI patients with and without coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery (relative to states without report cards). The analysis was conducted at the hospital level. For validation we used raw mortality and re-admission trends for AMI patients. While prior hospital expenditures suggest a considerable change in the illness severity of AMI patients in Pennsylvania relative to other states, raw mortality and re-admission trends in Pennsylvania are relatively consistent with the trend in the rest of the USA. In line with raw mortality and re-admission data, the Charlson and Elixhauser indices do not imply a considerable change in the severity of AMI patients in Pennsylvania. For CABG patients, illness severity - as measured by all three severity measurement methods - decreased after introduction of report cards, particularly in Pennsylvania. In conclusion, for AMI patients the Charlson and Elixhauser indices are a more valid measure of illness severity than prior year's hospital expenditures. After report cards were introduced, healthier AMI patients were more likely to receive CABG surgery, while sicker patients were avoided.

Can Centralization of Cancer Surgery Improve Social Welfare?

The empirical association between high hospital procedure volume and lower mortality rates has led to recommendations for the centralization of complex surgical procedures. Yet redirecting patients to a select number of high-volume hospitals creates potential negative consequences for market competition. We use patient-level data to estimate the association between hospital procedure volume and patient mortality and costs. We also estimate the association between hospital market concentration and mortality, cost, and prices. We use our estimates to simulate the change in social welfare resulting from redirecting patients at low-volume hospitals to high-volume facilities. We find that a higher procedure volume leads to significant reductions in mortality for patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer, but not colon cancer. Procedure volume also influences costs for both surgeries, but in a nonlinear fashion. Increased market concentration is associated with higher costs and prices for colon cancer, but not pancreatic cancer patients. Simulations indicated that centralizing pancreatic cancer surgery is unambiguously welfare enhancing. In contrast, there is less evidence to suggest that centralizing colon cancer surgery would be welfare improving.

Certificate of Need (CON) for cardiac care: controversy over the contributions of CON.

OBJECTIVES: To test whether state Certificate of Need (CON) regulations influence procedural mortality or the provision of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). DATA SOURCES: Medicare inpatient claims obtained for 1989-2002 for patients age 65+ who received CABG or PCI. STUDY DESIGN: We used differences-in-differences regression analysis to compare states that dropped CON during the sample period with states that kept the regulations. We examined procedural mortality, the number of hospitals in the state performing CABG or PCI, mean hospital volume, and statewide procedure volume for CABG and PCI. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: States that dropped CON experienced lower CABG mortality rates relative to states that kept CON, although the differential is not permanent. No such mortality difference is found for PCI. Dropping CON is associated with more providers statewide and lower mean hospital volume for both CABG and PCI. However, statewide procedure counts remain the same. CONCLUSIONS: We find no evidence that CON regulations are associated with higher quality CABG or PCI. Future research should examine whether the greater number of hospitals performing revascularization after CON removal raises expenditures due to the building of more facilities, or lowers expenditures due to enhanced price competition.