Hospital employment trends in California, 1982-1994

During the 1980s California hospitals responded to selective contracting, growth in managed care, and the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) by controlling their level of spending. This DataWatch examines whether these hospitals achieved these savings by changing the number and/or the mix of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 1996, Vol.15 (1), p.152-158
Main Authors: Anderson, G F, Kohn, L T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Budgets
California
Capital expenditures
Competition
Contract Services
Cost analysis
Cost control
Cost Control - methods
Employees
Employment
Employment - statistics & numerical data
Employment - trends
Health care expenditures
Health care facilities
Health maintenance organizations
Hiring
HMOs
Hospital facilities
Hospitals
Humans
Hypotheses
Job classification
Managed care
Managed Care Programs
Market penetration
Medical personnel
Medicare
Methods
Nurses
Patients
Personnel
Personnel Selection - economics
Personnel Selection - trends
Personnel Staffing and Scheduling - economics
Personnel Staffing and Scheduling - trends
Personnel, Hospital - economics
Personnel, Hospital - supply & distribution
Prospective payment
Prospective Payment System
Prospective payment systems
Rural areas
Rural health care
Statistical analysis
Studies
Trends
Urban health care
Wages & salaries
Workforce planning
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Description
Summary:During the 1980s California hospitals responded to selective contracting, growth in managed care, and the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) by controlling their level of spending. This DataWatch examines whether these hospitals achieved these savings by changing the number and/or the mix of hospital employees. We examined employment trends because wages represent the largest component of hospital budgets and because the number and mix of personnel can be changed in the short run. Analysis of the California Health Facilities Cost Report data shows that employment increased steadily during 1982-1994. There is no evidence that hospitals responded to growing competition by altering the rate of growth in hospital personnel and only weak evidence that they altered the mix of personnel by hiring a greater proportion of nonclinical staff. We conclude that increased competition had only a minor effect on hospital employment decisions.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.15.1.152