Unplanned Regionalization and Interstate Dependence in Pediatric Hospital Care

To what extent do states depend on neighboring states for pediatric inpatient hospital care?In this cross-sectional study of 28 631 pediatric admissions in the New England region of the US, more than 70% occurred in Massachusetts, which provided nearly 87% of the bed-days in 2019. Out-of-state admissions ranged from 2.0% to 65.8% by state, and privately insured children were twice as likely as Medicaid-insured children to receive out-of-state care.Pediatric hospital care in the New England region is highly regionalized, with substantial reliance on Massachusetts, suggesting that coordinated regional planning is essential to ensure system stability and access.

Corresponding Author: Michael L. McManus, MD, MPH, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Bader 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02115 (michael.mcmanus@childrens.harvard.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.