To examine how similar racial/ethnic disparities in clinical quality (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set []) and patient experience (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems []) measures are for different measures within Medicare Advantage () plans.
Data Sources/Study Setting
5.7 million/492,495 beneficiaries with 2008–2009 / data.
Binomial () and linear () hierarchical mixed models generated contract estimates for / measures for Hispanics, blacks, Asian‐Pacific Islanders, and whites. We examine the correlation of within‐plan disparities for and measures across measures.
Plans with disparities for a given minority group (vs. whites) for a particular measure have a moderate tendency for similar disparities for other measures of the same type (mean = 0.51/.21 and 53/34 percent positive and statistically significant for /). This pattern holds to a lesser extent for correlations of disparities and disparities (mean = 0.05/0.14/0.23 and 4.4/5.6/4.4 percent) positive and statistically significant for blacks/Hispanics/.
Similarities in and disparities across measures might reflect common structural factors, such as language services or provider incentives, affecting several measures simultaneously. Health plan structural changes might reduce disparities across multiple measures.
