Table 2. Characteristics of Hospitals Subject to the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program in Fiscal Year 2013 or 2014, by Penalty Status in Fiscal Year 2013.
| Hospital Characteristic | Penalized Hospitala | Nonpenalized Hospital | P Value for Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitals, No.b | 2210 | 1053 | |
| Hospital beds, mean (SD) | 258 (232) | 205 (217) | <.001 |
| Location, % | |||
| Urban | 72.9 | 68.1 | .005 |
| Rural | 27.1 | 31.9 | |
| Medical school affiliation, % | |||
| Yes | 34.2 | 25.2 | <.001 |
| No | 65.8 | 74.8 | |
| Ownership status, % | |||
| For-profit | 21.6 | 18.4 | .002 |
| Nonprofit | 61.0 | 59.7 | |
| Government | 17.1 | 21.1 | |
| Physician ownership | 0.2 | 0.8 | |
| Index hospitalizations per year, mean (SD)c | 270.3 (234.9) | 209.2 (241.4) | <.001 |
| % of patients who were black, mean (SD)c | 12.0 (17.1) | 7.3 (13.7) | <.001 |
a
Penalty status based was on penalties that Medicare assigned in fiscal year 2013 list (ie, 25 hospitals that appeared in fiscal year 2014 but not fiscal year 2013 were classified as nonpenalized). We lacked data on beds, location, medical school affiliation, and ownership status for 3 nonpenalized hospitals.
b
Hospitals were listed in the HRRP payment adjustment factor data sets reported by Medicare for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, with index hospitalizations that were eligible as per our analysis.
c
Based on data for myocardial infarction, heart failure, and pneumonia together from calendar years 2007-2014 (excluding December 2014).