Cost utility of public clinics to increase pneumococcal vaccines in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: Pneumococcal immunization has been shown to be cost effective, is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and is covered by Medicare. Despite that, over 50% of the population aged > or =65 is not vaccinated, leading to significant mortality and morbidity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the costs and the cost utility of immunization in nontraditional settings (community clinics set up to provide influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations) as a strategy to increase pneumococcal immunization rates. METHODS: A cost-utility analysis of public immunization clinics in Monroe County, New York, during the fall of 1998. The study included 1207 adults aged > or =65. Costs of operating the clinics and of vaccine administration were measured. The cost of health sequela and estimates of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were obtained from prior studies. Sensitivity analyses were performed to test several important assumptions. RESULTS: Unlike immunizations in physician offices, immunizations in nontraditional settings are not cost saving. Estimates of incremental cost-utility ratios ranged from $4215 per QALY to $12,617 per QALY, depending on the underlying assumptions of the model. CONCLUSIONS: Clinics in nontraditional settings offering pneumococcal immunization have cost-utility ratios near and below those of other recommended vaccines. These results suggest that such clinics should be considered a viable strategy for increasing pneumococcal immunization rates.

The impact of quality report cards on choice of physicians, hospitals, and HMOs: a midcourse evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Increasing competition in health care markets and ongoing pressures to contain costs raise concerns about possible deterioration in the quality of medical care. Publicly disseminated quality report cards are designed to inform consumers' choice of providers and health plans, thus counteracting incentives to provide low-quality care and improving the functioning of health care markets. METHODS: This article reviews and evaluates the published evidence on the impact of quality report cards on patients' choice of health care providers and health plans. RESULTS: Studies found only minimal effect of quality report cards on patient referral choices. These findings can be explained by several study design issues and by the economic forces governing health care markets. They cannot be construed to imply that quality report cards are not effective. DISCUSSION: Whether report cards are effective or not is still an unanswered question. Further efforts to improve the information contained in report cards and to make them more understandable could increase their effectiveness.

HMO penetration, competition, and risk-adjusted hospital mortality.

OBJECTIVE: HMOs have been shown to have an effect on the care provided directly to their enrollees. They may also influence the care provided to individuals in fee-for-service plans through a spill-over effect. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations among HMO market penetration, HMO and hospital competition, and the quality of care received by Medicare fee-for-service patients measured by risk-adjusted hospital mortality rates. DATA SOURCES: The 1990 data for 1,927 hospitals in 134 metropolitan statistical areas (with five or more hospitals) included Medicare fee-for-service risk-adjusted mortality rates from the Medicare Hospital Information Reports, hospital characteristics from the American Hospital Association annual survey, and HMO market penetration and competition calculated from InterStudy and Group Health Association of America data. STUDY DESIGN: Statistical regression techniques were used to identify the associations between HMO market penetration, competition, and risk-adjusted mortality, controlling for other hospital characteristics and region. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Higher HMO market penetration and to a lesser degree increased HMO competition were associated with better mortality outcomes for fee-for-service Medicare enrollees. Competition between hospitals did not exhibit a significant association. CONCLUSIONS: HMOs may have a spill-over effect on quality of care received by individuals enrolled in fee-for-service plans. These findings may be explained by a positive effect on local practice styles or a preferential selection by HMOs for areas with better hospital care.

Racial differences in access to high-quality cardiac surgeons.

OBJECTIVES: Racial differences in access to cardiac artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery are well documented. This study extends the literature by examining racial differences in access to high-quality cardiac surgeons. METHODS: The analyses included 11,296 CABG surgeries in New York State in 1996. Regression techniques were used to identify significant associations between a patient's race, health maintenance organization (HMO) enrollment, and the quality of the surgeon performing the surgery, measured by the surgeon's risk-adjusted mortality rate (RAMR). RESULTS: Non-Whites were more likely than Whites to have access to surgeons of higher RAMR, by 11.7% among HMO enrollees (1-tailed P < .1) and by 5.4% among fee-for-service enrollees (1-tailed P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Even when racial minorities do gain access to CABG services, they are more likely that non-Whites to receive care from lower-quality providers.

Do quality report cards play a role in HMOs' contracting practices? Evidence from New York State.

OBJECTIVE: To answer two related questions: (1) Do managed care organizations (MCOs) in New York State (NYS) consider quality when they choose cardiac surgeons? (2) Do they use information about risk-adjusted mortality rates (RAMR) provided in the New York State Cardiac Surgery Reports? DATA SOURCES: (1) Telephone interviews with and contracting data from the majority of MCOs licensed in NYS; (2) RAMR, quality outlier designation, and procedure volume for all cardiac surgeons, as reported in the Cardiac Surgery Reports. STUDY DESIGN: Interview data were analyzed in conjunction with patterns revealed by contracting data. Null hypotheses that MCOs' contracting choices were random with respect to the information published in the Cardiac Surgery Reports were tested. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sixty percent of MCOs ranked the quality of surgeons as most important in their contracting considerations. Although 64 percent of MCOs indicated some knowledge of the NYS Cardiac Surgery Reports, only 20 percent indicated that the reports were a major factor in their contracting decision. Analyses of actual contracting patterns show that in aggregate, the hypothesis of random choice could be rejected with respect to high-quality outlier status and high procedure volume but not for RAMR or poor-quality outlier status. The panel composition of the majority of MCOs (80.2 percent) was within two standard deviations of the expected mean under the null hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a professed preference for high-quality surgeons, the use of publicly available quality reports by MCOs is currently low, and contracting practices for the majority of MCOs do not indicate a systematic selection either for or against surgeons based on their reported mortality scores. This study suggests that policy initiatives to increase the effective use of report cards should be encouraged.

Evaluation of children's health insurance: from New York State's CHild Health Plus to SCHIP.

BACKGROUND: The legislation and funding of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997 resulted in the largest public investment in child health care in 30 years. The program was designed to provide health insurance for the estimated 11 million uninsured children in the United States. In 1991 New York State implemented a state-funded program-Child Health Plus (CHPlus)-intended to provide health insurance for uninsured children who were ineligible for Medicaid. The program became one of the prototypes for SCHIP: This study was designed to measure the association between CHPlus and access to care, utilization of care, quality of care, and health care costs to understand the potential impact of one type of prototype SCHIP program. METHODS: The study took place in the 6-county region of upstate New York around and including the city of Rochester. A before-and-during design was used to compare children's health care for the year before they enrolled in CHPlus versus the first year during enrollment in CHPlus. The study included 1828 children (ages 0-6.99 years at enrollment) who enrolled between November 1, 1991 and August 1, 1993. A substudy involved 187 children 2 to 12.99 years old who had asthma. Data collection involved: 1) interviews of parents to obtain information about demographics, sources of health care, experience and satisfaction with CHPlus, and perceived impact of CHPlus; 2) medical chart reviews at all primary care offices, emergency departments, and health department clinics in the 6-county region to measure utilization of health services; 3) claims analysis to assess costs of care during CHPlus and to impute costs before CHPlus; and 4) analyses of existing datasets including the Current Population Survey, National Health Interview Survey, and statewide hospitalization datasets to anchor the study in relation to the statewide CHPlus population and to assess secular trends in child health care. Logistic regression and Poisson regression were used to compare the means of dependent measures with and without CHPlus coverage, while controlling for age, prior insurance type, and gap in insurance coverage before CHPlus. ENROLLMENT: Only one third of CHPlus-eligible children throughout New York State had enrolled in the program by 1993. Lower enrollment rates occurred among Hispanic and black children than among white children, and among children from lowest income levels. PROFILE OF CHPlus ENROLLEES: Most enrollees were either previously uninsured, had Medicaid but were no longer eligible, or had parents who either lost a job and related private insurance coverage or could no longer afford commercial or private insurance. Most families heard about CHPlus from a friend, physician, or insurer. Television, radio, and newspaper advertisements were not major sources of information. Nearly all families had at least 1 employed parent. Two thirds of the children resided in 2-parent households. Parents reported that most children were in excellent or good health and only a few were in poor health. The enrolled population was thus a relatively low-risk, generally healthy group of children in low-income, working families. ACCESS AND UTILIZATION OF HEALTH CARE: Utilization of primary care increased dramatically after enrollment in CHPlus, compared with before CHPlus. Visits to primary care medical homes for preventive, acute, and chronic care increased markedly. Visits to medical homes also increased for children with asthma. There was, however, no significant association between enrollment in CHPlus and changes in utilization of emergency departments, specialty services, or inpatient care. QUALITY OF CARE: CHPlus was associated with improvements in many measures involving quality of primary care, including preventive visits, immunization rates, use of the medical home for health care, compliance with preventive guidelines, and parent-reported health status of the child. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

Evolution of a children's health insurance program: lessons from New York State's Child Health Plus.

The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was passed by Congress in 1997. It provides almost $40 billion in federal block grant funding through the year 2007 for states to expand health insurance for children. States have the option of expanding their Medicaid programs, creating separate insurance programs, or developing combination plans using both Medicaid and the private insurance option. New York State's child health insurance plan, known by its marketing name Child Health Plus, was created by the New York Legislature in 1990. New York's program, along with similar ones from several other states, served as models for the federal legislation, especially for state health insurance plans offered through private insurers. New York's program provides useful data for successful implementation of SCHIP.

Evaluation of New York State's Child Health Plus: methods.

BACKGROUND: The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is the largest public investment in child health care in 30 years, targeting 11 million uninsured children, yet little is known about the impact of health insurance on uninsured children. In 1991 New York State implemented Child Health Plus (CHPlus), a health insurance program that was a prototype for SCHIP. A study was designed to measure the association between CHPlus and access to care, utilization of services, and quality of care. METHODS: The setting was a 6-county region in upstate New York (population 1 million) around and including the city of Rochester. A before-and-during design was used to compare children's health care for the year before they enrolled in CHPlus versus the first year during CHPlus, for 1828 children (ages 0-6.99 years at enrollment) who enrolled between November 1, 1991 and August 1, 1993. An additional study involved 187 children 2 to 12.99 years old who had asthma. Parents were interviewed to assess demographic characteristics, sources of health care, experience with CHPlus, and impact of CHPlus on their children's quality of care and health status. Medical charts were reviewed to measure utilization and quality of care, for 1730 children 0 to 6.99 years and 169 children who had asthma. Charts were reviewed at all primary care offices and at the 12 emergency departments and 6 public health department clinics in the region. CHPlus claims files were analyzed to determine costs during CHPlus and to impute costs before CHPlus from utilization data. ANALYSES: Logistic regression and Poisson regression were used to compare the means of dependent measures with and without CHPlus coverage, while controlling for age, prior insurance type, and gap in insurance coverage before CHPlus. CONCLUSIONS: This study developed and implemented methods to evaluate the association between enrollment in a health insurance program and children's health care. These methods may also be useful for evaluations of SCHIP.

A profile of the population enrolled in New York State's Child Health Plus.

BACKGROUND: The recently enacted State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), designed to provide affordable health insurance for uninsured children, was modeled in part on New York State's Child Health Plus (CHPlus), which was implemented in 1991. All SCHIP programs involve voluntary enrollment of eligible children. Little is known about characteristics of children who enroll in these programs. OBJECTIVES: To provide a profile of children enrolled in CHPlus between 1993 and 1994 in the 6-county upstate New York study area, and to estimate the participation rate in CHPlus. Methods. A parent interview was conducted to obtain information about children, 0 to 6.9 years old, who enrolled in CHPlus in the study area. Two school-based surveys and the Current Population Survey were used to estimate health insurance coverage. Enrollment data from New York State's Department of Health, together with estimates of the uninsured, were used to estimate participation rates in CHPlus. RESULTS: Most children enrolled in CHPlus in the study area were white. Although 17% of all children in the study area who were <13 years old and living in families with incomes below 160% of the federal poverty level were black, only 9% of CHPlus-enrolled children were black. Twenty-one percent of enrolled children were uninsured during the entire year before enrollment and 61% of children had a gap in coverage lasting >1 month. Children were generally healthy; only 4% had fair or poor health. Eighty-eight percent of parents of enrolled children had completed high school or a higher level of education. Parents reported that loss of a job was the main reason for loss of prior health insurance for their child. Most families learned about CHPlus from a friend (30%) or from their doctor (26%). The uninsured rate among children in the study area was approximately 4.1%. By 1993, the participation rate in CHPlus was about 36%. CONCLUSION: Blacks were underrepresented in CHPlus. Because the underlying uninsured rate was relatively low and parental education and family income were relatively high, the effects of CHPlus observed in this evaluation may be conservative in comparison to the potential effects of CHPlus for other populations of children. Participation rates during the early years of the program were modest.

Evaluation of New York State's Child Health Plus: access, utilization, quality of health care, and health status.

BACKGROUND: The recently enacted State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is modeled after New York State's Child Health Plus (CHPlus) program. Since 1991, CHPlus has provided health insurance to children 0 to 13 years old whose annual family income was below 222% of the federal poverty level and who were ineligible for Medicaid or did not have equivalent health insurance coverage. CHPlus covered the costs for ambulatory, emergency, and specialty care, and prescriptions, but not inpatient services. OBJECTIVES: To assess the change associated with CHPlus regarding 1) access to health care; 2) utilization of ambulatory, inpatient, and emergency services; 3) quality of health care; and 4) health status. SETTING: Six western New York State counties (including the city of Rochester). SUBJECTS: Children (0-6.99 years old) enrolled for at least 9 consecutive months in CHPlus. METHODS: The design was a before-and-after study, comparing individual-level outcomes for the 12 months immediately before CHPlus enrollment and the 12 months immediately after enrollment in CHPlus. Parent telephone interviews and medical chart reviews conducted 12 months after enrollment to gather information. Subjects' primary care charts were located by using interview information; emergency department (ED) charts were identified by searching patient records at all 12 EDs serving children in the study; and health department charts were identified by searching patient records at the 6 county health department clinics. Logistic regression and Poisson regression were used to compare the means of dependent measures with and without CHPlus coverage, while controlling for age, prior insurance type, and gap in insurance coverage before CHPlus. RESULTS: Complete data were obtained for 1730 children. Coverage by CHPlus was associated with a significant improvement in access to care as measured by the proportion of children reported as having a usual source of care (preventive care: +1.9% improvement during CHPlus and sick care: +2. 7%). CHPlus was associated, among children 1 to 5 years old, with a significant increase in utilization of preventive care (+.23 visits/child/year) and sick care (+.91 visits/child/year) but no measurable change in utilization of specialty, emergency, or inpatient care. CHPlus was also associated, among children 1 to 5 years old, with significantly higher immunization rates (up-to-date for immunizations: 76% vs 71%), and screening rates for anemia (+11% increased proportion screened/year), lead (+9%), vision (+11%), and hearing (+7%). For 25% of the children, a parent reported that their child's health was improved as a result of having CHPlus. CONCLUSION: After enrollment in CHPlus, access to and utilization of primary care increased, continuity of care improved, and many quality of care measures were improved while utilization of emergency and specialty care did not change. Many parents reported improved health status of their child as a result of enrollment in CHPlus. Implication. This evaluation suggests that SCHIP programs are likely to improve access to, quality of, and participation in primary care significantly and may not be associated with significant changes in specialty or emergency care.

Evaluating Child Health Plus in upstate New York: how much does providing health insurance to uninsured children increase health care costs?

BACKGROUND: In response to the increase in the number of American children without health insurance, new federal and state programs have been established to expand health insurance coverage for children. However, the presence of insurance reduces the price of care for families participating in these programs and stimulates the use of medical services, which leads to an increase in health care costs. In this article, we identified the additional expenditures associated with the provision of health insurance to previously uninsured children. METHODS: We estimated the expenditures on additional services using data from a study of children living in the Rochester, New York, area who were enrolled in the New York State Child Health Plus (CHPlus) program. CHPlus was designed specifically for low-income children without health insurance who were not eligible for Medicaid. The study sample consisted of 1910 children under the age of 6 who were initially enrolled in CHPlus between November 1, 1991 and August 1, 1993 and who had been enrolled for at least 9 continuous months. We used medical chart reviews to determine the level of primary care utilization, parent interviews for demographic information, as well as specialty care utilization, and we used claims data submitted to CHPlus for the year after enrollment to calculate health care expenditures. Using this information, we estimated a multivariate regression model to compute the average change in expenditures associated with a unit of utilization for a cross-section of service types while controlling for other factors that independently influenced total outpatient expenditures. RESULTS: Expenditures for outpatient services were closely related to primary care utilization-more utilization tended to increase expenditures. Age and the presence of a chronic condition both affected expenditures. Children with chronic conditions and infants tended to have more visits, but these visits were, on average, less expensive. Applying the average change in expenditures to the change in utilization that resulted from the presence of insurance, we estimated that the total increase in expenditures associated with CHPlus was $71.85 per child in the year after enrollment, or a 23% increase in expenditures. The cost increase was almost entirely associated with the provision of primary care. Almost three-quarters of the increase in outpatient expenditures was associated with increased acute and well-child care visits. CONCLUSIONS: CHPlus was associated with a modest increase in expenditures, mostly from additional outpatient utilization. Because the additional primary care provided to young children often has substantial long-term benefits, the relatively modest expenditure increases associated with the provision of insurance may be viewed as an investment in the future.

Evaluation of New York State's Child Health Plus: children who have asthma.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the impact of providing health insurance to uninsured children who have asthma or other chronic diseases. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between health insurance and the utilization of health care and the quality of care among children who have asthma. DESIGN: Before-and-during study of children for a 1-year period before and a 1-year period immediately after enrollment in a state-funded health insurance plan. INTERVENTION: In 1991 New York State implemented Child Health Plus (CHPlus), a health insurance program providing ambulatory and ED (ED), but not hospitalization coverage for children 0 to 12.99 years old whose family incomes were below 222% of the federal poverty level and who were not enrolled in Medicaid. SUBJECTS: A total of 187 children (2-12.99 years old) who had asthma and enrolled in CHPlus between November 1, 1991 and August 1, 1993. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rates of primary care visits (preventive, acute, asthma-specific), ED visits, hospitalizations, number of specialists seen, and quality of care measures (parent reports of the effect of CHPlus on quality of asthma care, and rates of recommended asthma therapies). The effect of CHPlus was assessed by comparing outcome measures for each child for the year before versus the year after CHPlus enrollment, controlling for age, insurance coverage before CHPlus, and asthma severity. DATA ASCERTAINMENT: Parent telephone interviews and medical chart reviews at primary care offices, EDs, and public health clinics. MAIN RESULTS: Visit rates to primary care providers were significantly higher during CHPlus compared with before CHPlus for chronic illness care (.995 visits before CHPlus vs 1.34 visits per year during CHPlus), follow-up visits (.86 visits vs 1.32 visits per year), total visits (5.69 visits vs 7.11 visits per year), and for acute asthma exacerbations (.61 visits vs 0.84 visits per year). There were no significant associations between CHPlus coverage and ED visits or hospitalizations, although specialty utilization increased (30% vs 40%; P =.02). According to parents, CHPlus reduced asthma severity for 55% of children (no change in severity for 44% and worsening severity for 1%). Similarly, CHPlus was reported to have improved overall health status for 45% of children (no change in 53% and worse in 1%), primarily attributable to coverage for office visits and asthma medications. CHPlus was associated with more asthma tune-up visits (48% before CHPlus vs 63% during CHPlus). There was no statistically significant effect of CHPlus on several other quality of care measures such as follow-up after acute exacerbations, receipt of influenza vaccination, or use of bronchodilators or antiinflammatory medications. CONCLUSIONS: Health insurance for uninsured children who have asthma helped overcome financial barriers that prevented children from receiving care for acute asthma exacerbations and for chronic asthma care. Health insurance was associated with increased utilization of primary care for asthma and improved parent perception of quality of care and asthma severity, but not with some quality indicators. Although more intensive interventions beyond health insurance are needed to optimize quality of asthma care, health insurance coverage substantially improves the health care for children who have asthma.

Evaluation of a state health insurance program for low-income children: implications for state child health insurance programs.

BACKGROUND: The State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is the largest public investment in child health care in 30 years, targeting 11 million uninsured children, yet little is known about the impact of health insurance on uninsured children. In 1991, New York State implemented Child Health Plus (CHPlus), a health insurance program that became a model for SCHIP: OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in access to care, utilization of services, and quality of care among children enrolled in CHPlus. DESIGN: A pre-post design was used to evaluate the health care experiences of children in the year before enrollment in CHPlus and during the year after CHPlus enrollment. SETTING: New York State, stratified into 4 regions: New York City, urban counties around New York City, upstate urban counties, and upstate rural counties. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2126 children (0-12.99 years of age) who enrolled in CHPlus in 1992-1993. DATA COLLECTION: Parents were interviewed by telephone, and primary care medical charts were reviewed for 694 children (0-3. 99 years of age). ANALYSIS: Access, utilization, and quality of care measures for each child were compared for the year before and the year after CHPlus enrollment, controlling for age, geographic region, previous insurance coverage, and CHPlus plan type (indemnity or managed care). RESULTS: Enrollment in CHPlus was associated with fewer children lacking a medical home (5% before CHPlus vs 1% during CHPlus), with the greatest change occurring in New York City (11% vs 1%), where access before CHPlus was lowest. CHPlus was also associated with increased primary care visits: by 25% for preventive visits, by 52% for acute visits, and by 42% for total visits. The number of specialists seen during CHPlus was more than twice as high than before CHPlus. CHPlus was not associated with changes in emergency department utilization, although hospitalizations, which were not covered by CHPlus, were 36% lower during CHPlus coverage. Use of public health departments for immunizations declined by 64%, with more immunizations delivered in the medical home during CHPlus coverage. One third of parents reported improved quality of health care for their child as a result of CHPlus, and virtually none noted worse quality of care. CONCLUSIONS: This statewide health insurance program for low-income children was associated with improved access, utilization, and quality of care, suggesting that SCHIP has the potential to improve health care for low-income American children.

A screening approach to the surveillance of patients with diabetes for the presence of vision-threatening retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To provide scientifically based screening rules for the primary care setting designed to identify, through evaluation of a prescribed and limited portion of the posterior fundus, those patients with diabetes who have retinopathy severe enough to need referral to eye care specialists. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) photographic data base. PARTICIPANTS: The fundus photographic grading data from 3711 patients with diabetes enrolled in the ETDRS. METHODS: Multivariate regression techniques were used to identify retinopathy lesions in photographic fields 1, 2, 3, or a combination thereof that predict proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) or clinically significant macular edema (CSME) within the seven standard fields. These were used to construct a family of screening rules with optimal combined sensitivity and specificity on which to base referrals to eye care specialists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Presence of moderate to severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), PDR, or CSME in graded fundus photographs. RESULTS: Hemorrhages and microaneurysms (h/ma) temporal to the macula (photographic field 3), as severe as or more severe than ETDRS standard photograph 1 (h/ma 3 > or = 3), identified 87% to 89% of eyes with PDR and 92% to 93% of eyes with moderately severe to severe NPDR, which are at high risk for developing PDR. Extrapolating the results using retinopathy prevalence data from epidemiologic studies for the general older onset diabetic population, the calculated sensitivity for detecting PDR on a single examination is 87%, the specificity 80%; for moderate NPDR or worse, the sensitivity is 81 %, specificity 93%. Applying the presence of h/ma 3 > or = 3 as a screening rule to the older onset population, 26.5% of patients would be referred and 73.5% would not be referred. Any hard exudate within one disc diameter of the macular center detects CSME with sensitivity 94%, specificity 54%. Hard exudate of moderate or worse severity anywhere in the macular region (field 2) predicts CSME with sensitivity 89%, specificity 58%. CONCLUSIONS: Screening protocols based on assessing retinopathy lesion severity in the posterior fundus have the potential to identify most diabetic patients with vision-threatening retinopathy. If the protocols can be implemented effectively in a primary care setting, patients requiring referral for specialty care could be reliably identified, and the total number of patients needing specialty referral could be substantially reduced from current guidelines.

Nursing home costs and risk-adjusted outcome measures of quality.

BACKGROUND: The inadequacy of quality of care in nursing homes has been and continues to be a focus of public concerns. Understanding the relationship between quality and costs can offer guidance to policies designed to encourage high quality. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between costs and quality of care in nursing homes, and to test the hypothesis that higher quality may be associated with lower costs. RESEARCH DESIGN: Statistical regression techniques were used to estimate nursing home variable-cost functions that included three risk-adjusted outcome measures of quality. Quality measures were based on decline in functional status, worsening pressure ulcers, and mortality. The study hypothesis was tested by an F test for the exclusion of nonlinear quality variables in the cost functions. SUBJECTS: The study included 525 free-standing private and public nursing homes in New York State, or 84% of all nursing homes in the state during 1991. RESULTS: F tests rejected the hypotheses that the three quality measures could be excluded from the cost function and that the association between costs and quality was linear. An inverted U-shaped relationship between quality and costs suggests that there are quality regimens in which higher quality is associated with lower costs. CONCLUSIONS: Policies that encourage research to identify care protocols and management strategies leading to better outcomes and lower costs, as well as policies that encourage dissemination of such practices, may prevent decline in quality despite the continued financial constraints faced by nursing homes.

Long-term care insurance underwriting: understanding eventual claims experience.

Little is known about the accuracy of medical underwriting for long-term care insurance. The lack of data on claims experience continues to be an obstacle in testing the ability of medical underwriting to identify above average financial risks. This study used actual claims data to simulate medical underwriting and to examine the risk, duration, and timing of nursing home use for people with conditions that are uninsurable. The results show that at least one older person in seven who is rejected for long-term care insurance due to underwriting may not represent greater financial risk to insurers than do those who are accepted.

Barriers to compliance with screening guidelines for diabetic retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To identify barriers to compliance with guidelines for diabetic retinopathy screening. METHODS: The population studied included 4410 adults, aged 31 to 64, enrolled in an Independent Practice Association (IPA) plan in Upstate New York, who were diagnosed with diabetes, and their Primary Care Physicians (408 PCPs). Claims data were used to calculate variables characterizing patients and their PCPs. Logistic regression models were estimated to identify factors associated with higher probability of screening. RESULTS: 34% of patients were screened in 1993. The probability of screening was significantly higher for older patients, for women, for patients who visit their PCPs more often and for those living in areas of higher average education and lower percentage of blacks. However, only 16% of diabetic patients received an annual screen in two consecutive years (1992 and 1993). The probability of consecutive annual screening was significantly associated only with gender and patient expenditures per month. CONCLUSION: The very low rate of diabetic retinopathy screening has implications for quality of life of patients with diabetes, long term costs of caring for them and social costs due to lost productivity. Interventions to increase screening rates are needed and should target both patients and their Primary Care Physicians.

The influence of risk adjustment methods on conclusions about quality of care in nursing homes based on outcome measures.

This study compares quality rankings of about 550 nursing homes in New York State, based on several outcome measures and differing risk adjustment methods. The outcomes were decline in functional status, worsening decubiti, and prevalence of physical restraints. Measures were constructed from PRI data, which are similar to MDS data. We found substantial disagreement on quality ranking across measures due to differences in the scope of risk adjustment. Insufficient risk adjustment of outcome measures may, therefore, lead to inappropriate classification of nursing homes as either poor-quality or high-quality homes. This has implications for state quality oversight, providers' reputations and patients' choice.

Quality of care information makes a difference: an analysis of market share and price changes after publication of the New York State Cardiac Surgery Mortality Reports.

OBJECTIVES: Quality report cards are becoming increasingly more common and receive much publicity. They can have significant impact on competition among providers, costs, and quality of health care. The authors test the hypotheses that hospitals and surgeons with better outcomes reported in the NYS Cardiac Surgery Reports experience a relative increase in their market share and prices. METHODS: Information from the New York State Cardiac Surgery Reports was linked with physicians' claims submitted to Medicare and was used to calculate market shares and average prices for hospitals and physicians performing CABG surgeries. Regression models were estimated to test hypotheses. All 30 hospitals offering coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) were studied as well as a majority of surgeons (114 or approximately 80%) performing CABG surgery in New York State during the 1990-1993 period. RESULTS: Findings indicate that hospitals and physicians with better outcomes experienced higher rates of growth in market shares. Physicians with better outcomes also had higher rates of growth in charges for this procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients (and referring physicians) seem to respond to information about quality of individual surgeons and hospitals as expected. The magnitude of the association between reported mortality and market shares varies geographically, potentially reflecting differences in sociodemographic characteristics. The association tends to decline over time, suggesting that it is primarily due to "new" information.