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To the Editor: In their article on the effect of physician-owned cardiac hospitals on rates of cardiac surgery, Dr Nallamothu and colleagues¹ stated their results "differ somewhat" from the results reported in the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) 2005 congressionally mandated study on specialty hospitals.^2-3 The MedPAC 2005 study looked at data through 2002, while Nallamothu et al analyzed data through 2003. In 2006, MedPAC issued a refined version of its analysis that examined changes in volume through 2004.⁴

We want to clarify that the results of the MedPAC 2005 and 2006 studies and Nallamothu et al are all consistent (Table). Nallamothu et al took into account whether and how long a specialty hospital operated in a market. The authors note that the initial 2005 MedPAC study made a simple dichotomous comparison between markets with and without a physician-owned heart hospital. However, in the 2006 study, MedPAC did . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Jeffrey Stensland, PhD
jstensland@medpac.gov

Julian Pettengill, MA; Ariel Winter, MPP; Mark Miller, PhD
MedPAC
Washington, DC

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