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Race and insurance status are independent predictors of the choice between total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) and hemiarthroplasty (HA) of the shoulder joint.

Current literature shows that ethnic and socioeconomic status may influence access to health care. However, no study has demonstrated whether insurance status and race are independent predictors that patients with glenohumeral osteoarthritis will undergo TSA.

Patients with primary International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification, procedure codes for TSA and HA were selected from the 1988 to 2007 United States Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Primary predictors were race (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, other) and insurance status (private, Medicare, Medicaid, other). Multiple logistic regressions were used to determine whether insurance status and race …