Thirty-Day Readmission Rates for Medicare Beneficiaries by Race and Site of Care

To determine whether black patients have higher odds of readmission than white patients and whether these disparities are related to where black patients receive care.

Using national Medicare data, we examined 30-day readmissions after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (MI), congestive heart failure (CHF), and pneumonia. We categorized hospitals in the top decile of proportion of black patients as minority-serving. We determined the odds of readmission for black patients compared with white patients at minority-serving vs non-minority-serving hospitals. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Medicare Provider Analysis Review files of more than 3.1 million Medicare fee-for-service recipients who were discharged from US hospitals in 2006-2008. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Risk-adjusted odds of 30-day readmission.