No abstract

Several studies have found poor or mixed performance by safety net hospitals on national measures of quality. The study's purposes were to determine whether safety net hospital performance is similar to the average U.S. hospital, both currently and during earlier reporting periods, and to summarize features commonly used to assess performance, including definition of safety net and patient characteristics. This study reviewed quality performance data for the Joint Commission's accountability measures for hospitals that are members of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH)-safety net hospitals that serve a large proportion of Medicaid and uninsured patients. Analyses of quality performance on the earliest data show that on average there was no statistically significant difference in performance between NAPH members and other hospitals on 6 of 15 measures. According to the most recent data, NAPH hospitals on average had no statistically significant differences as other hospitals on 13 of 18 measures and had statistically significantly better scores on two measures. These results are an important addition to the literature regarding safety net hospitals that serve a high proportion of Medicaid, low income, and uninsured patients, and support the case that quality of care at safety net hospitals is equivalent to that of non-safety net hospitals.

Women's median earnings are lower than men's in nearly all occupations, whether they work in occupations predominantly done by women, occupations predominantly done by men, or occupations with a more even mix of men and women. During 2011, median weekly earnings for female full-time workers were $684, compared with $832 per week for men, a gender wage ratio of 82.2 percent (Table 1; a gender wage gap of 17.8 percent). 1 Added to the gender wage gap within occupations is the gender wage gap between occupations. Male-dominated occupations tend to pay more than female-dominated occupations at similar skill levels, particularly at higher levels of educational attainment. 2 Tackling occupational segregation is an important part of tackling the gender wage gap.For more information on IWPR reports or membership, please call (202) 785-5100, e-mail