title: The effect of HMOs on hospital capacity, 1982-1996.
abstract: Hospital capacity has declined in recent years and is forecast to decline further. The objective of this study is to determine if hospital capacity has declined more rapidly in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with high HMO market penetration compared with MSAs with low HMO market penetration in the period from 1982 to 1996. The findings presented in this study are that greater reductions in beds per capita occur in MSAs with greater HMO penetration, but the magnitude of the differences is small. Reductions in other measures of hospital capacity--hospital closures, beds per hospital, and occupancy--are not consistently associated with HMO market penetration. Bed capacity occurs at roughly similar rates in all MSAs.
authors.affiliation: Medicare Payment Assessment Commission (MedPAC), Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Worzala
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001509:Bed Occupancy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002391:Catchment Area, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002947:Cities; D006271:Health Facility Closure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D018854:Managed Competition; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017062:Small-Area Analysis; D014481:United States