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What happens when Medicare cuts hospital prices? Assessing the impact on inpatient discharges among the elderly.
Find Brief. 2013 Nov;16(6):1-3
Authors: Radomski L
Abstract
Key findings. (1) Between 1995 and 2009, growth in Medicare inpatient prices varied widely across hospital markets. Faster growth typically occurred in less urban areas that had a large market share of for-profit hospitals. (2) By 2008-2009, elderly patients were going to the hospital at the same rate as in the mid-1990s, but their stays were much shorter, and they received much more intensive services. (3) Medicare price cuts, largely attributable to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, were associated with a decrease in the number of elderly discharges and a decrease in the number of staffed hospital beds, highlighting possible effects of hospital price cuts under health reform.
PMID: 24312988 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]