HMN 2025: How New software program measures fairness in NYC hospital care

A model new study from CUNY SPH researchers locations forth a easy choice to measure whether or not or not hospitals are providing truthful entry to take care of low-income and uninsured victims.

In the article, printed in Health Affairs Scholar, CUNY SPH doctoral pupil Deirdre Flynn and colleagues introduce the Proportional Share Index (PSI), a software program which compares the number of Medicaid and uninsured victims a hospital treats to the hospital’s share of beds inside the metropolis.

If a hospital’s PSI is 1, it means the hospital is serving its justifiable share of these vulnerable victims. A PSI beneath 1 suggests the hospital is not doing its half, whereas a PSI above 1 means it is serving better than its share.

Researchers found that a lot of New York City’s well-resourced private hospitals, significantly large academic medical amenities, have a PSI beneath 1. This means they serve fewer Medicaid and uninsured victims than anticipated primarily based totally on their measurement.

In distinction, public hospitals sometimes have a PSI above 1, indicating they sort out a much bigger share of take care of these groups. The study moreover highlighted that these patterns contribute to ongoing racial and ethnic disparities in properly being care, since Black and Hispanic New Yorkers often are typically on Medicaid or uninsured.

“By making the PSI public, we hope policymakers and communities can larger keep hospitals accountable and push for additional equitable properly being care all through New York City,” says Flynn.