Studies from University of Michigan in the Area of Managed Care Described (The Association between Distressed Community Index and Failure to Rescue after Cardiac Surgery among Medicare Beneficiaries): Managed Care

2026 FEB 13 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Research findings on Managed Care are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting originating from Ann Arbor, Michigan, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Failure to rescue (FTR)-mortality following complications-is an important cardiac surgery quality metric. While risk-adjusted FTR measures account for traditional patient risk, the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on FTR is less understood.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Michigan, “This sample included 67,386 Medicare beneficiaries undergoing coronary and/or valve surgery between 2016-2019. The distressed community index (DCI), a measure of neighborhood economic well-being, was linked to beneficiary zip code and stratified into quintiles for univariate analyses. Outcomes included complications, operative mortality, and in-hospital FTR. A composite of complications included renal failure, venous thromboembolism, pneumonia, gastrointestinal bleeding, pulmonary failure, hemorrhage, and surgical site infections. Mixed-effects logistic regression assessed the association between DCI (per 10-point increase) and FTR. The cohort was 31.6% female, 5.9% Black, and 1.3% Hispanic, with 24.1% in the lowest and 16.4% in the highest distressed quintiles. Beneficiaries in the highest versus lowest distressed quintile were younger as well as more likely female and minorities. The highest versus lowest DCI quintiles were more likely underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. Beneficiaries in the highest distressed quintile had increased rates of composite complications (32.3% vs. 28.9%, p<0.001), mortality (5.3% vs. 4.5%, p<0.001), and FTR (12.0% vs. 10.2%, p<0.05). Adjusted odds of FTR were 2% greater (OR 1.02 CI95% 1.00-1.04) per 10-point increase in DCI. Residential DCI was predictive of FTR after cardiac surgery.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Future work should identify and disseminate strategies to mitigate the disproportionate impact of low SES on FTR.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The Association between Distressed Community Index and Failure to Rescue after Cardiac Surgery among Medicare Beneficiaries. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 2026. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery can be contacted at: Mosby-elsevier, 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-thoracic-and-cardiovascular-surgery/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Sanjhai L. Ramdeen, Dept. of Cardiac Surgery, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Additional authors for this research include J’undra N. Pegues, Lindsay Royston, Hechuan Hou, Jie Yang, Michael P. Thompson, Francis D. Pagani, Robert B. Hawkins and Donald S. Likosky.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery is: Mosby-elsevier, 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710, USA.

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