HFMA NEWS

The National Governors Association NGA released a statement yesterday calling on Congress to delay implementation of seven Medicaid rules scheduled to take effect Aug. 1. The Medicaid regulations represent a shift of “billions of dollars in federal costs to states,” says the statement, with a potential impact of “up to four times the Administration’s original five-year, $13 billion estimate.”

Asserting that the regulations were issued “without thoughtful dialogue between the states and federal partners,” the NGA maintains that the regulations do not offer clear guidance for compliance or reflect the unique aspects of individual state programs, and that “the issues raised by all of these regulations deserve more thoughtful, detailed and collaborative discussions” to best serve the states. Read the statement.

With increasing reports of dangerous deficiencies in the quality of health care, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) on June 5 announced a $300 million commitment to improve health care in 14 communities that together cover 11 percent of the U.S. population. Underscoring the scope of the problem, RWJF also released new research showing that the quality of care people receive can vary dramatically depending on their race and where they live. The goals of the community-focused program, known as Aligning Forces for Quality, are to lift the overall quality of health care, reduce racial and ethnic disparities, and provide models for national reform.

Aligning Forces for Quality was originally launched by RWJF in 2006. In the first phase, the communities began efforts to improve health care for patients with chronic illness in outpatient settings, such as physician offices and clinics. With this expansion, Aligning Forces for Quality community teams will now strive to improve care for all patients across all settings by helping physicians improve the quality of care, giving people information that helps them make informed choices about their health care, improving care inside hospitals, and reducing inequality in care for patients of different races and ethnicities. Read the press release.