The report led by CHP/PCOR faculty fellow Laurence Baker and colleagues found large variations among California hospitals the intensity with which the facilities treat seriously ill patients. Variations were found among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries, as well as among nonelderly patients with private insurance and Medicare HMO beneficiaries.

 

According to the report, hospitals that frequently hospitalize fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries often are the same hospitals that use high levels of resource for other types of patients as well. The study suggests that improvements in health care delivery could yield savings for a range of populations