Changes in payer mix of new and established trauma centers: the new trauma center money grab?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although timely access to trauma center (TC) care for injured patients is essential, the proliferation of new TCs does not always improve outcomes. Hospitals may seek TC accreditation for financial reasons, rather than to address community or geographic need. Introducing new TCs risks degrading case and payer mix at established TCs. We hypothesized that newly accredited TCs would see a disproportionate share of commercially insured patients.

Study design

We collected data from all accredited adult TCs in Pennsylvania using the state trauma registry from 1999 to 2018. As state policy regarding supplemental reimbursement for underinsured patients changed in 2004, we compared patient characteristics and payer mix between TCs established before and after 2004. We used

SUBMITTER: Haddad DN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11331905 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature