Robert FrombergEditor-in-Chief, HFMA
The Commonwealth Fund last week posted a very helpful summary of state health reform activity. The posting includes an in-depth look at Wisconisin, shorter pieces on nine other states, and information on federal policy actions affecting state healthcare financing.
As one might expect, the common threads include care for those most vulnerable, especially children; public-private partnerships; simplified coverage options; and publication of quality and cost information.
Focusing just on this last aspect, I found one passage in the Wisconsin article especially sobering:
The WCHQ, WHIO, and similar public reporting initiatives share the challenge of encouraging consumers and employers to use cost and quality information in their purchasing and care choices. WCHQ recognizes the need to make its Web tool easier for consumers to navigate and is considering working with consumer organizations to determine how to do this. Queram notes that, although employers are interested in the performance data, most do not offer financial or other incentives to steer workers toward better-performing health providers... Over the long run, the Wisconsin initiatives will need to develop a sustainable business model for health information collection and reporting. This will require commitment from the private and public sectors and evidence that these efforts work—that they encourage purchasers, consumers, and health providers to change their behavior and lead to higher quality and more efficient care.
The WCHQ, WHIO, and similar public reporting initiatives share the challenge of encouraging consumers and employers to use cost and quality information in their purchasing and care choices. WCHQ recognizes the need to make its Web tool easier for consumers to navigate and is considering working with consumer organizations to determine how to do this.
Queram notes that, although employers are interested in the performance data, most do not offer financial or other incentives to steer workers toward better-performing health providers...
Over the long run, the Wisconsin initiatives will need to develop a sustainable business model for health information collection and reporting. This will require commitment from the private and public sectors and evidence that these efforts work—that they encourage purchasers, consumers, and health providers to change their behavior and lead to higher quality and more efficient care.
The attention to quality and price transparency is so intense, and the case for providing this information is so compelling, it would be sad indeed if the information ultimately is not used. According to HFMA's latest PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING® report, Consumerism in Health Care, price and quality information will only be used by consumers if it is useful to consumers. The report presents strategies for doing just that, most notably providing information about quality and a patient's estimated payment responsibility prior to providing a service in a fashion tailored to each patient. The report acknowledges that providing information in this way requires significant attention to process, people, and technology, but leading organizations already are making headway. Look for an article on three such organizations in the August issue of hfm magazine.
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