The impact of quality on cost in the provision of long-term care.
Regulatory and reimbursement policies in the health care industry have generally been developed on the assumption that a trade-off exists between quality enhancement and cost control. In this study of 494 proprietary, nonprofit, and government nursing home facilities in New York State, I examined the relationship between quality and costs while controlling for facility characteristics and resident characteristics. I found that although the capital-intensive aspects of patient care quality make a significant impact on costs, the labor-intensive aspects of patient care quality do not. I discuss the policy implications of these findings.
Ullmann
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D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005161:Facility Regulation and Control; D006291:Health Policy; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009518:New York; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D009739:Nursing Services / Q000592:standards; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D012044:Regression Analysis