News: Poor financial hospital health leads to less perinatal access, report suggests

Poor financial hospital health is associated with decreased likelihood of providing perinatal services, according to a new report published in JAMA Network Open.

The report sought to determine the relationship between United States hospitals’ long-term financial stability and its association with perinatal access (e.g., obstetric units [OB], neonatal intensive care units [NICU]).

The study examined 4,931 hospitals, 1,164 of which provided OB and NICU care. These hospitals were selected from the 2010 to 2018 annual American Hospital Association (AHA) survey and CMS Healthcare Cost Report Information System.

“We examined hospital provision of perinatal services stratified by hospital financial health,” said the authors of the report, “and the associated health policy of disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, which financially support hospitals serving high proportions of Medicaid patients.”

According to the report:

• Worse hospital financial health—i.e., lower operating margins—was associated with decreased likelihood of providing perinatal services
• Most hospitals of this type were located in southern and rural areas
• There was a moderate correlation with higher percentage of births in DSH-receiving hospitals and reduced maternal mortality

Editor’s note: To read the JAMA Network Open article, click here.