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Medicare reimbursement, nurse staffing, and patient outcomes

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  • Kaestner, Robert
  • Guardado, Jose

Abstract

There is widespread concern about the quality of health care in the US, and the effect of provider payments on the quality of care is an important and unsettled issue in this debate. The critical question is whether changes in provider payments affect health. To date there is relatively little research on this question. Here, we present evidence of the effect of plausibly exogenous changes in Medicare reimbursement - caused by geographical reclassification - on hospital staffing (nurses) and patient outcomes. We find that changes in Medicare reimbursement levels of approximately 10% have no meaningful effect on hospital use of resources or patient outcomes.

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  • Kaestner, Robert & Guardado, Jose, 2008. "Medicare reimbursement, nurse staffing, and patient outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 339-361, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:27:y:2008:i:2:p:339-361
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    Cited by:

    1. Reichert, Arndt R. & Stroka, Magdalena A., 2014. "Nursing Home Prices and Quality of Care - Evidence from Administrative Data," Ruhr Economic Papers 470, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    2. Arndt R. Reicher & Magdalena Stroka, 2014. "Nursing Home Prices and Quality of Care - Evidence from Administrative Data," Ruhr Economic Papers 0470, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    3. repec:zbw:rwirep:0470 is not listed on IDEAS

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