Nursing home quality and financial performance: does the racial composition of residents matter?
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effects of the racial composition of residents on nursing homes' financial and quality performance. The study examined Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes across the United States that submitted Medicare cost reports between the years 1999 and 2004 (11,472 average per year).


DATA SOURCE
Data were obtained from the Minimum Data Set, the On-Line Survey Certification and Reporting, Medicare Cost Reports, and the Area Resource File.


STUDY DESIGN
Panel data regression with random intercepts and negative binomial regression were conducted with state and year fixed effects.


PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Financial and quality performance differed between nursing homes with high proportions of black residents and nursing homes with no or medium proportions of black residents. Nursing homes with no black residents had higher revenues and higher operating margins and total profit margins and they exhibited better processes and outcomes than nursing homes with high proportions of black residents.


CONCLUSION
Nursing homes' financial viability and quality of care are influenced by the racial composition of residents. Policy makers should consider initiatives to improve both the financial and quality performance of nursing homes serving predominantly black residents.
['Chisholm|Latarsha|L|', 'Weech-Maldonado|Robert|R|', 'Laberge|Alex|A|', 'Lin|Feng-Chang|FC|', 'Hyer|Kathryn|K|']
D001741:African Americans D019985:Benchmarking D005376:Financial Management D006707:Homes for the Aged D006801:Humans D008484:Medicaid D006278:Medicare D009735:Nursing Homes D011787:Quality of Health Care D012111:Residence Characteristics D014481:United States
Nursing homes quality financial performance racial composition blacks