title: Variations in rural hospital costs: effects of market concentration and location.
abstract: This article explores two neglected questions: (1) Does the relationship between hospital concentration and costs vary between urban and rural markets? and (2) Do hospital costs in non-metropolitan areas vary with rurality? Covariance model results using 1992 data reveal that: (1) Although metropolitan and urban markets exhibit a negative relationship between hospital average costs and market concentration, non-metropolitan and rural markets fail to exhibit any relationship between costs and concentration; and (2) among non-metropolitan hospitals, only hospitals located in single-hospital communities have lower costs than their counterparts in multiple-hospital communities, once other factors are held constant.
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, College of Health Related professions, Gainesville 32610, USA.
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D002391:Catchment Area, Health / Q000191:economics*; D005843:Geography; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018803:Models, Economic; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States