TY - JOUR
T1 - Quality of care in investor-owned vs not-for-profit HMOs
AU - Himmelstein, David U.
AU - Woolhandler, Steffie
AU - Hellander, Ida
AU - Wolfe, Sidney M.
PY - 1999/7/14
Y1 - 1999/7/14
N2 - Context: The proportion of health maintenance organization (HMO) members enrolled in investor-owned plans has increased sharply, yet little is known about the quality of these plans compared with not-for-profit HMOs. Objective: To compare quality-of-care measures for investor-owned and not- for-profit HMOs. Design, Setting, and Participants: Analysis of the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Version 3.0 from the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Quality Compass 1997, which included 1996 quality-of-care data for 329 HMO plans (248 investor-owned and 81 not-for- profit), representing 56% of the total HMO enrollment in the United States. Main Outcome Measures: Rates for 14 HEDIS quality-of-care indicators. Results: Compared with not-for-profit HMOs, investor-owned plans had lower rates for all 14 quality-of-care indicators. Among patients discharged from the hospital after myocardial infarction, 59.2% of members in investor-owned HMOs vs 70.6% in not-for-profit plans received a β-blocker (P<.001); 35.1% of patients with diabetes mellitus in investor-owned plans vs 47.9% in not- for-profit plans had annual eye examinations (P<.001). Investor-owned plans had lower rates than not-for-profit plans of immunization (63.9% vs 72.3%; P<.001), mammography (69.4% vs 75.1%; P<.001). Papanicolaou tests (69.2% vs 77.1%; P<.001), and psychiatric hospitalization (70.5% vs 77.1%; P<.001). Quality scores were highest for staff- and group-model HMOs. In multivariate analyses, investor ownership was consistently associated with lower quality after controlling for model type, geographic region, and the method each HMO used to collect data. Conclusions: Investor-owned HMOs deliver lower quality of care than not-for-profit plans.
AB - Context: The proportion of health maintenance organization (HMO) members enrolled in investor-owned plans has increased sharply, yet little is known about the quality of these plans compared with not-for-profit HMOs. Objective: To compare quality-of-care measures for investor-owned and not- for-profit HMOs. Design, Setting, and Participants: Analysis of the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Version 3.0 from the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Quality Compass 1997, which included 1996 quality-of-care data for 329 HMO plans (248 investor-owned and 81 not-for- profit), representing 56% of the total HMO enrollment in the United States. Main Outcome Measures: Rates for 14 HEDIS quality-of-care indicators. Results: Compared with not-for-profit HMOs, investor-owned plans had lower rates for all 14 quality-of-care indicators. Among patients discharged from the hospital after myocardial infarction, 59.2% of members in investor-owned HMOs vs 70.6% in not-for-profit plans received a β-blocker (P<.001); 35.1% of patients with diabetes mellitus in investor-owned plans vs 47.9% in not- for-profit plans had annual eye examinations (P<.001). Investor-owned plans had lower rates than not-for-profit plans of immunization (63.9% vs 72.3%; P<.001), mammography (69.4% vs 75.1%; P<.001). Papanicolaou tests (69.2% vs 77.1%; P<.001), and psychiatric hospitalization (70.5% vs 77.1%; P<.001). Quality scores were highest for staff- and group-model HMOs. In multivariate analyses, investor ownership was consistently associated with lower quality after controlling for model type, geographic region, and the method each HMO used to collect data. Conclusions: Investor-owned HMOs deliver lower quality of care than not-for-profit plans.
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U2 - 10.1001/jama.282.2.159
DO - 10.1001/jama.282.2.159
M3 - Article
C2 - 10411197
AN - SCOPUS:0033554090
SN - 0098-7484
VL - 282
SP - 159
EP - 163
JO - JAMA
JF - JAMA
IS - 2
ER -