Evidence mapPaperPMID 39797574Full record

ArticleHealth services research2025

Segregation in hospital care for Medicare beneficiaries by race and ethnicity and dual-eligible status from 2013 to 2021.

Alina Kung, Bian Liu, Louisa W Holaday, Karen McKendrick, Yingtong Chen, Albert L Siu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health services research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. Alternative Approaches to Characterizing Disparate Care by Race, Ethnicity, and Insurance Between Hospitals.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Alina KungDivision of General Internal Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7129-9914
Bian LiuDepartment of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9166-693X
Louisa W HoladayDivision of General Internal Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Karen McKendrickBrookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Yingtong ChenBrookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Albert L SiuBrookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.

Funding

Research Methods and Measurement CoreP30AG028741 · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2025 to 2025
$1.3M
Research Training for the Care of Vulnerable Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias and Other Chronic ConditionsT32AG066598 · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2025 to 2025
$404k
NIA NIH HHS AG066598NIA NIH HHS P30 AG028741NIA NIH HHS T32 AG066598NIA NIH HHS TS, 3P30AG028741
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine the extent of segregation between hospitals for Medicare beneficiaries by race, ethnicity, and dual-eligible status over time. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY

settingWe used Medicare inpatient hospital provider data for fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries, and the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care from 2013 to 2021 nationwide, for hospital referral regions (HRRs), and for and hospital service areas (HSAs). STUDY

designWe conducted time trend analysis with dissimilarity indices (DIs) for Black (DI-Black), Hispanic (DI-Hispanic), non-White (including Black, Hispanic, and other non-White) (DI-non-White), and dual-eligible (DI-Dual) beneficiaries. DIs between hospitals were contextualized and correlated with population compositions and residential DIs. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION

methodsWe included 3177 hospitals with more than 250 Medicare FFS beneficiaries discharged per year. We cross-linked data on hospital-level patient race, ethnicity, and dual-eligible status with geographic data and examined time trends using linear mixed models. PRINCIPAL

findingsNationwide DIs ranged from 0.23 to 0.53. HRRs and HSAs generally had low segregation (DI medians: 0.08-0.19, highest among Black, then non-White, Hispanic, and dual-eligible beneficiaries). However, some HRRs and HSAs had moderate or high segregation (DI-Black >0.30 in 19.1% of HRRs and 5.8% of HSAs; DI-non-White >0.30 for two HRRs with high American Indian/Alaska Native populations). Time trends indicated small declines in segregation from 2013 to 2021 (0.15%-0.30% per year; all p < 0.001). DI-Dual correlated moderately with non-White populations.

conclusionsFor Medicare FFS, we observe generally low and slightly declining levels of segregation across HRRs and HSAs, with notable exceptions. Improving race reporting and contextualizing select areas of higher segregation with their hospital and residential population compositions can help frame and understand health inequities. Interpretation of HRR-level DI may require additional historical, demographic, and spatial context due to its potential to oversimplify, overstate, or obscure segregation. Future work should identify drivers and mitigators of segregation, including sorting patterns among health systems.

Indexed as

Fee-for-Service PlansHealthcare DisparitiesHispanic or LatinoHospitalsMedicareRacial GroupsAgedAged, 80 and overBlack or African AmericanFemaleHumansMaleUnited StatesWhiteethnicityhealth inequitieshospitalsMedicaidMedicareracial groupssocial segregation

Identifiers

PMID39797574
PMCPMC12047699

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.