Medicare's Value-Based Purchasing And 30-Day Mortality At Hospitals Caring For High Proportions Of Black Adults.

The care of Black adults is highly concentrated at a limited set of US hospitals that often have limited resources. In 2011, the Medicare Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program began financially penalizing or rewarding hospitals based on thirty-day mortality rates for target conditions (myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia). Because the VBP Program has disproportionately penalized resource-constrained hospitals caring for high proportions of Black adults since its implementation in 2011, clinicians, health system leaders, and policy makers have worried that the program may unintentionally be widening racial disparities in health outcomes. Using Medicare claims for beneficiaries ages sixty-five and older who were hospitalized for three target conditions at 2,908 US hospitals participating in the VBP Program, we found that thirty-day mortality rates were consistently higher for two of three conditions at hospitals with high proportions of Black adults compared with other hospitals. There was no evidence of a differential change in thirty-day mortality among all Medicare beneficiaries with targeted conditions at high-proportion Black hospitals versus other hospitals seven years after the implementation of the VBP Program. However, gaps in mortality between these sites did widen in the subgroup of Black adults with pneumonia. These findings highlight that important concerns remain about the regressive nature and equity implications of national pay-for-performance programs.

Association Between Medicare Program Type and Health Care Access, Acute Care Utilization, and Affordability Among Adults With Cardiovascular Disease.

BACKGROUND: Medicare Advantage plans now provide health insurance coverage to >24 million older adults in the United States, and enrollment is increasing among individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Whether Medicare Advantage enrollment is associated with similar health care access, acute care utilization, and financial strain for adults with CVD compared with traditional Medicare is unknown. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older with CVD using the 2019 National Health Interview Survey. We fit multivariable logistic regression models to examine the association of Medicare program type (Medicare Advantage versus traditional Medicare) with measures of health care access, acute care utilization, and affordability. RESULTS: The weighted population included 11 013 437 Medicare beneficiaries, of whom 3 922 104 (35.6%) were enrolled in Medicare Advantage, and 7 091 334 (64.4%) were enrolled in traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare enrollees were similar with respect to age, sex, racial/ethnic distribution, and household income; however, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were more likely to live in an urban setting (82.7% versus 76.0%; P=0.01) and to be college educated (24.2% versus 19.0%; P=0.01). Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were more likely to have a usual source of care (93.5% versus 88.9%; OR, 1.99 [95% CI, 1.33-2.98)]; however, there were no other differences in health care access or utilization. Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were more likely to have problems paying medical bills (16.5% versus 11.6%; OR, 1.68 [1.17-2.40]) and to worry about paying medical bills (40.1% versus 33.8%; OR, 1.37 [1.07-1.76]) compared with those enrolled in traditional Medicare. CONCLUSIONS: Adults with CVD in Medicare Advantage were more likely to experience financial strain related to their medical bills compared with those in traditional Medicare. As enrollment in Medicare Advantage grows, policy efforts should focus on ensuring care is affordable for patients with CVD.

Disparities in Cardiovascular Mortality Between Black and White Adults in the United States, 1999 to 2019.

BACKGROUND: Black adults experience a disproportionately higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors and disease in comparison with White adults in the United States. Less is known about how sex-based disparities in cardiovascular mortality between these groups have changed on a national scale over the past 20 years, particularly across geographic determinants of health and residential racial segregation. METHODS: We used CDC WONDER (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research) to identify Black and White adults age ≥25 years in the United States from 1999 to 2019. We calculated annual age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality rates (per 100 000) for Black and White women and men, as well as absolute rate differences and rate ratios to compare the mortality gap between these groups. We also examined patterns by US census region, rural versus urban residence, and degree of neighborhood segregation. RESULTS: From 1999 to 2019, age-adjusted mortality rates declined overall for both Black and White adults. There was a decline in age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality among Black (602.1 to 351.8 per 100 000 population) and White women (447.0 to 267.5), and the absolute rate difference (ARD) between these groups decreased over time (1999: ARD, 155.1 [95% CI, 149.9-160.3]; 2019: ARD, 84.3 [95% CI, 81.2-87.4]). These patterns were similar for Black (824.1 to 526.3 per 100 000) and White men (637.5 to 396.0; 1999: ARD, 186.6 [95% CI, 178.6-194.6]; 2019: ARD, 130.3 [95% CI, 125.6-135.0]). Despite this progress, cardiovascular mortality in 2019 was higher for Black women (rate ratio, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.30-1.33])- especially in the younger (age <65 years) subgroup (rate ratio, 2.28 [95% CI, 2.23-2.32])-as well as for Black men (rate ratio, 1.33 [95% CI, 1.32-1.34]), compared with their respective White counterparts. There was regional variation in cardiovascular mortality patterns, and the Black-White gap differed across rural and urban areas. Cardiovascular mortality rates among Black women and men were consistently higher in communities with high levels of racial segregation compared with those with low to moderate levels. CONCLUSIONS: During the past 2 decades, age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality declined significantly for Black and White adults in the United States, as did the absolute difference in death rates between these groups. Despite this progress, Black women and men continue to experience higher cardiovascular mortality rates than their White counterparts.

Promoting Inclusive Recruitment: a Qualitative Study of Black Adults' Decision to Participate in Genetic Research.

Underrepresentation of Black individuals in genetic research is a longstanding issue. There are well-documented strategies to improve the enrollment of Black participants; however, few studies explore these strategies-as well as the barriers and facilitators for participation-by sampling Black people who have previously participated in genetic research. This study explores the decision-making process of Black adults who have participated in genetic research to identify best practices in the recruitment of Black subjects in genetic research. We conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with Black adults with prior research participation in genetic studies housed at an urban academic medical center in the United States of America (USA). An online survey was conducted with the participants to gather demographic data and information on prior research participation. Trust in research was ascertained with the Corbie-Smith Distrust in Clinical Research Index. Two participants scored high levels of distrust using the validated index. Using thematic content analysis, 4 themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Participants are active players in health system, (2) information is power, and transparency is key, (3) therapeutic alliances and study characteristics facilitate participation, and (4) race pervades the research process. The decision to participate in genetic research for the participants in our study was prompted by participants' internal motivations and facilitated by trust in their doctor, trust in the institution, and ease of participation. Most participants viewed their enrollment in genetic research in the context of their own racial identity and the history of medical racism in the USA.