Legislation that would create a new foundation for healthcare quality improvement within a National Health Care Quality Improvement Office was introduced by Senator John Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO). The National Health Care Quality Act would establish and routinely update healthcare quality priorities based on a number of mandatory considerations and implemented across all federal agencies involved in purchasing, providing, studying, or regulating health care. It would also expand the authority of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in order to improve the public-private process for healthcare quality measure development and to streamline the implementation of quality improvement measures within federal health programs.
In other news, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services issued a report that states that healthcare reform will bring greater transparency in healthcare delivery, which “could prove to be transformative to the industry.” Providers will likely be divided into winners and losers, according to the report, “which could ultimately impact key rating factors, and thus have far-reaching implications for our credit ratings.” The report, Health Care Reform Is Likely to Bring Increased Focus on Transparency, is available by calling 212-438-9823.
