NCPA

Excerpted From: John C. Goodman and Gerald L. Musgrave

Patient Power (Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 1992)
W64

Case Study: Elderly Mortality and State Government Regulation

Various studies have attempted to determine whether government policies are leading to higher mortality rates for elderly patients. A Northwestern University study surveyed the hospital records of more than 200,000 patients in 45 states. It found that states with the most stringent regulation of hospital charges had a 6 to 10 percent higher mortality rate among elderly patients than the states with the least stringent rate regulation. The study also found that states with the most stringent certificate-of-need (CON) regulations " controlling the ability of hospitals to expand and purchase equipment " had mortality rates 5 to 6 percent higher than states with less stringent CON regulations. The authors concluded that severe regulatory requirements "create incentives for hospitals to contain costs and may act as barriers to the development of innovative services that might otherwise improve the quality of care."

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