Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

A variety of recent theoretical and empirical advances have renewed interest in monopsonistic models of the labor market. However, there is little direct empirical support for these models, even in labor markets that are textbook examples of monopsony. We use an exogenous change in wages at Veterans Affairs hospitals as a natural experiment to investigate the extent of monopsony in the nurse labor market. In contrast to much of the prior literature, we estimate that labor supply to individual hospitals is quite inelastic, with short-run elasticity around 0.1. We also find that non-VA hospitals responded to the VA wage change by changing their own wages.

Managed Care, Technology Adoption, and Health Care: The Adoption of Neonatal Intensive Care

Managed care activity may alter the incentives associated with the acquisition and use of new medical technologies, with potentially important implications for health care costs, patient care, and outcomes. This paper discusses mechanisms by which managed care could influence the adoption of new technologies and empirically examines the relationship between HMO market share and the diffusion of neonatal intensive care, a collection of technologies for the care of high risk newborns. We find that managed care slowed the adoption of NICUs, primarily by slowing the adoption of mid-level NICUs rather than the most advanced high-level units. Slowing the adoption of mid-level units would likely have generated savings. Moreover, opposite the frequent supposition that slowing technology growth is uniformly harmful to patients, in this case reduced adoption of mid-level units could have benefitted patients, since health outcomes for seriously ill newborns are better in higher-level NICUs and reductions in the availability of mid-level units appear to increase the chance of receiving care in a high-level center.

Is There Monopsony in the Labor Market? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Recent theoretical and empirical advances have renewed interest in monopsonistic models of the labor market. However, there is little direct empirical support for these models. We use an exogenous change in wages at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals as a natural experiment to investigate the extent of monopsony in the nurse labor market. We estimate that labor supply to individual hospitals is quite inelastic, with short-run elasticity around 0.1. We also find that non-VA hospitals responded to the VA wage change by changing their own wages

Human Capital and Organizational Performance: Evidence from the Healthcare Sector

This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between human capital and organizational performance. We use detailed longitudinal monthly data on nursing units in the Veterans Administration hospital system to identify how the human capital (general, hospital-specific and unit or team-specific) of the nursing team on the unit affects patients' outcomes. Since we use monthly, not annual, data, we are able to avoid the omitted variable bias and endogeneity bias that could result when annual data are used. Nurse staffing levels, general human capital, and unit-specific human capital have positive and significant effects on patient outcomes while the use of contract nurses, who have less specific capital than regular staff nurses, negatively impacts patient outcomes. Policies that would increase the specific human capital of the nursing staff are found to be cost-effective.

Trends in resources for neonatal intensive care at delivery hospitals for infants born younger than 30 weeks' gestation, 2009-2020

Importance: In an ideal regionalized system, all infants born very preterm would be delivered at a large tertiary hospital capable of providing all necessary care. Objective: To examine whether the distribution of extremely preterm births changed between 2009 and 2020 based on neonatal intensive care resources at the delivery hospital. Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at 822 Vermont Oxford Network (VON) centers in the US between 2009 and 2020. Participants included infants born at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation, delivered at or transferred to centers participating in the VON. Data were analyzed from February to December 2022. Exposures: Hospital of birth at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation. Main outcomes and measures: Birthplace neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) level was classified as A, restriction on assisted ventilation or no surgery; B, major surgery; or C, cardiac surgery requiring bypass. Level B centers were further divided into low-volume (<50 inborn infants at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation per year) and high-volume (≥50 inborn infants at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation per year) centers. High-volume level B and level C centers were combined, resulting in 3 distinct NICU categories: level A, low-volume B, and high-volume B and C NICUs. The main outcome was the change in the percentage of births at hospitals with level A, low-volume B, and high-volume B or C NICUs overall and by US Census region. Results: A total of 357 181 infants (mean [SD] gestational age, 26.4 [2.1] weeks; 188 761 [52.9%] male) were included in the analysis. Across regions, the Pacific (20 239 births [38.3%]) had the lowest while the South Atlantic (48 348 births [62.7%]) had the highest percentage of births at a hospital with a high-volume B- or C-level NICU. Births at hospitals with A-level NICUs increased by 5.6% (95% CI, 4.3% to 7.0%), and births at low-volume B-level NICUs increased by 3.6% (95% CI, 2.1% to 5.0%), while births at hospitals with high-volume B- or C-level NICUs decreased by 9.2% (95% CI, -10.3% to -8.1%). By 2020, less than half of the births for infants at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation occurred at hospitals with high-volume B- or C-level NICUs. Most US Census regions followed the nationwide trends; for example, births at hospitals with high-volume B- or C-level NICUs decreased by 10.9% [95% CI, -14.0% to -7.8%) in the East North Central region and by 21.1% (95% CI, -24.0% to -18.2%) in the West South Central region. Conclusions and relevance: This retrospective cohort study identified concerning deregionalization trends in birthplace hospital level of care for infants born at 22 to 29 weeks' gestation. These findings should serve to encourage policy makers to identify and enforce strategies to ensure that infants at the highest risk of adverse outcomes are born at the hospitals where they have the best chances to attain optimal outcomes

Acute hospitalizations and outcomes in Veterans Affairs Hospitals 2011 to 2017.

Hospitals within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system exhibited growing use of observation care. It is unknown how this affected VA hospital performance since observation care is not included in acute inpatient measures. To examine changes in VA hospitalization outcomes and whether it was affected by shifting acute inpatient care to observation care. Longitudinal analysis of 986,355 acute hospitalizations and observation stays in 11 states 2011 to 2017. We estimated temporal changes in 30-day mortality, 30-day readmissions, costs, and length of stay (LOS) for all hospitalizations and 6 conditions in adjusted models. Changes in mortality and readmissions were compared including and excluding observation care. A 9% drop in acute hospitalizations was offset by a 157% increase in observation stays 2011 to 2017. A 30-day mortality decreased but readmissions did not when observation stays were included (all P < .05). Mean costs increased modestly; mean LOS was unchanged. There were differences by condition. VA hospital mortality decreased; there was no change in readmissions

Maternal Vulnerability Index and Severe Maternal Morbidity

Importance: Few studies have investigated the association of composite measures of neighborhood social determinants of health with severe maternal morbidity (SMM), and no research has examined this association for indices tailored to maternal health. Objective: To examine the association of scores in the Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI), a tool developed to measure maternal risk of adverse health outcomes, with SMM. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective, population-based cohort study was conducted in 5 states (2008-2020 for Michigan, Oregon, and South Carolina; 2008-2018 for Pennsylvania; and 2008-2012 for California) among individuals delivering a fetal death or a live birth between 22 and 44 weeks. Analysis was conducted between August and October 2024. Exposure: The MVI, a composite measure of 43 area-level indicators, was categorized into 6 themes encompassing physical, social, and health care environments. MVI score and themes were examined in quartiles (quartile 1 = lowest risk to quartile 4 = highest risk) based on residential zip code tabulation area. Main Outcomes and Measures: SMM during delivery hospitalization and after discharge within 42 days after delivery. Results: Among 6543255 birthing individuals (3568631 ages 25-34 years [54.5%]; 472145 Asian or Pacific Islander [7.2%], 824239 Black [12.6%], 1673917 Hispanic [25.6%], and 3346807 White [51.2%]), there were 1087936 individuals in MVI quartile 1 (16.6%) and 1376658 individuals in MVI quartile 4 (21.0%). A total of 45051 individuals (0.7%) had SMM during delivery hospitalization, while 13534 individuals (0.2%) had SMM after discharge within 42 days after delivery. In adjusted analyses, there were no associations between MVI score or themes and SMM during delivery hospitalization. However, a dose-response association was observed between MVI score and SMM within 42 days after delivery (second MVI quartile: adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.03; 95% CI, 0.95-1.11; third MVI quartile: aRR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.03-1.23; fourth MVI quartile: aRR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.14-1.41). The highest MVI quartile in themes of general health care (aRR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.14-1.43), physical environment (aRR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.22-1.46), physical health (aRR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.12-1.35), reproductive health care (aRR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.15-1.47), and socioeconomic determinants (aRR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.02-1.39) was associated with SMM within 42 days after delivery. A dose-response association was observed between all MVI themes and SMM within 42 days after delivery (eg, physical environment MVI theme second quartile: aRR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.96-1.13; third quartile: aRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05-1.25; fourth quartile: aRR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.22-1.46), except for the mental health and general health care themes. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, MVI score was not associated with SMM during delivery but was associated with postpartum SMM, suggesting that MVI may capture long-term risks more effectively than acute conditions during delivery hospitalization

Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Actual vs Nearest Delivery Hospitals

IMPORTANCE Minoritized racial and ethnic groups, such as American Indian and Black individuals, often receive lower quality health care compared with White individuals. There is limited understanding of how these disparities extend to obstetric care, particularly when comparing the quality of care at the actual delivery hospital vs the nearest obstetric hospital based on the birthing individual’s residence. OBJECTIVE To examine inequality in care based on the actual delivery hospital and the closest delivery hospital to the birthing individual’s residential zip code centroid. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This population-based retrospective cohort study used data from 5 states (2008 to 2020 for Michigan, Oregon, and South Carolina; 2008 to 2018 for Pennsylvania; and 2008 to 2012 for California). Individuals delivering a fetal death or a live birth with gestational age between 22 to 44 weeks were included. Analysis was conducted between February and August 2024. EXPOSURE Race and ethnicity. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The obstetric inequality index was calculated using Gini coefficients from Lorenz curves for American Indian, Asian, Black, and Hispanic birthing individuals compared with White individuals, with hospitals ranked by their standardized morbidity ratio for nontransfusion severe maternal morbidity. RESULTS There were 6 418 635 birthing individuals across 549 hospitals (23 050 American Indian individuals [0.4%], 463 342 Asian individuals [7.2%], 807 738 Black individuals [12.6%], 1 645 922 Hispanic individuals [25.6%], and 3 279 315 White individuals [51.1%]). Compared with White individuals, American Indian and Black individuals delivered at lower-quality hospitals, while there was no significant difference for Asian and Hispanic individuals (delivery hospital inequality index: American Indian, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.03 to 0.11]; Asian, −0.02 [95% CI, −0.08 to 0.04]; Black, 0.15 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.19]; Hispanic −0.04 [95% CI, −0.09 to 0.01]). Black individuals lived closer to lower-quality hospitals than White individuals (closest hospital inequality index for Black individuals: 0.11 [95% CI, 0.07 to 0.14]). Asian and Hispanic individuals had similar closest hospital inequality indices to White individuals. The inequality index for Black individuals would have been lower if individuals had delivered at their nearest hospital. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study found that American Indian and Black individuals delivered at lower-quality hospitals than White individuals. The disparity in care between Black and White birthing individuals would have been reduced if individuals had delivered at their nearest hospital