Market-Based Reforms and the Quality of Hospital Care in New Jersey

How has the elimination of New Jersey's rate setting system in 1992, and the accompanying reduction in subsidies for hospital care for the uninsured, affected patient outcomes? The researcher expanded earlier work comparing New York and New Jersey MRI patients in 1994. In particular, he 1) studied the effects of the movement to price competition in NJ on quality and outcomes for patients with shock, acute gastrointestinal bleeding, pulmonary embolus, and AMI; and 2) examined whether hospital market concentration, managed-care penetration in different hospital markets, or a combination of the two are related to changes in quality and outcomes in a price competitive market. The objective of this project was to provide state and federal policymakers with better information about how cost-cutting reforms at the state level have affected quality of care.