Crain’s Health Pulse
NYC’S HEALTH GAP IS HARD TO CLOSE, STUDY FINDS
Although access to ambulatory care in Manhattan improved under the Bloomberg administration, health disparities between different demographics remain, according to a study published this week in the journal World Medical and Health Policy.
The rate of avoidable hospital discharges in Manhattan was 44% lower in the period between 2011 and 2013 than it was the period between 1999 and 2001, researchers found.
Although discharge rates fell in Manhattan neighborhoods both above and below the borough’s median income, they remained higher in lower-income neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the same demographic factors predicted higher rates of avoidable hospitalizations.
Gender, race, ethnicity, insurance status and neighborhood of residence had the most impact. Between 2011 and 2013, for instance, avoidable hospitalizations were about 29% more common among blacks and about 23% higher among Hispanics than they were among whites. The rate of avoidable hospitalizations was about 80% higher among people who were uninsured than among people with private insurance.
Researchers suggested that the success of the DSRIP program, which aims to reduce avoidable hospitalizations by 25%, will hinge on how effectively it improves access to care for people of color and residents of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. —C.L
Crain’s Health Pulse
NY KIDS
New York ranked No. 30 in the nation for children’s wellbeing, based on 16 measures, but there were some notable improvements, according to the 2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Currently, 98% of children in New York have health insurance while the share of teens 12 to 17 who abused alcohol or drugs in the past year dropped by 3 percentage points to 5%, the report said.