Racial and ethnic differences in hospitalization rates among aged Medicarebeneficiaries, 1998

Efforts to study racial variations in access to health care for minorities other than black persons have been hampered by a paucity of data. The Healt h Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has made efforts in the past few rea rs to enhance the racial codes on the Medicare enrollment files to include Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American designations. This study exam ines hospitalization rates by these more detailed racial/ethnic groupings. The results show black, Hispanic, and Native American aged beneficiaries co mpared with white beneficiaries have higher hospitalization rates. Asian Am erican beneficiaries have lower hospitalization rates. Rates of revasculari zation-coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal co ronary angioplasty (PTCA)-are lower for black, Hispanic, and Native America n beneficiaries compared with white beneficiaries, while rates for Asian Am ericans are similar to rates for white beneficiaries.