According to the first national study of hospital board chairs linked to quality performance, just half the boards rated quality of care as one of their two top priorities and only a minority reported receiving training in quality.  The study was published today on the Health Affairs Web site.
“Most boards have primarily focused on financial issues, mistakenly [...]

In my first post, I described the major features and basic approach of HR 3962, as well as the provisions of the bill that would go into effect more or less immediately.  This post will look more closely at some of the bill’s basic insurance reform elements.  In a final post, I will discuss the [...]

On October 12 America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a commissioned report by Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC), “Potential Impact of Health Reform on the Cost of Private Health Insurance Coverage.”   The study reported that health care reform as envisioned by the Senate Finance Committee would raise the cost of private health insurance by 23 percent [...]

A new study published yesterday in Health Affairs finds that hospitals that disproportionately care for low-income patients are falling behind in adopting electronic health records (EHRs). This is the first paper to use national data comparing EHR adoption between acute care providers primarily caring for the poor and those serving more general populations.
Ashish Jha of the [...]

Editor’s note: Health Affairs Founding Editor John Iglehart recently interviewed American Hospital Association CEO Rich Umbdenstock. The wide-ranging conversation, transcribed below, touched on the ongoing health reform debate, the evolving role of hospitals in community health, the effect of the economy on hospital finances, the evolution of integrated medicine, patient safety, workforce concerns, and other [...]

During the current health reform debate, both Democrats and Republicans have often made their case in terms of values such as liberty, justice, and equality. One example has been the Republican opposition to the “individual mandate” – requiring everyone to purchase health insurance if “affordable” coverage is available – which Senator John Kyl of Arizona [...]

One of the main points of dispute in the health reform debate has been whether to include a new public health insurance option. Legislation approved by three House committees and the Senate, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee includes such a public option, but the proposal unveiled yesterday by Senate Finance Committe Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) does not.
Earlier this week, Health [...]

Editor’s Note: In terms of “bending the cost curve,” health-care providers in La Crosse, WI., have clearly demonstrated the ability to deliver high-qualty care for comparatively low costs. La Crosse was one of ten communities featured at a July 21 conference in Washington, D.C. titled “How Do They Do That?  Low-Cost, High-Quality Health Care in [...]

Editor’s Note: The post below argues that accountable care organizations (ACOs) represent a critical step away from volume-driven health care payment and toward better health and better care at lower cost. In addition to Aaron McKethan and Mark McClellan of the Engelberg Center for Health Reform at the Brookings Institution (pictures and bios above), the post is coauthored [...]

Editor’s Note: In the post below, Jeff Goldsmith argues that the concept of accountable care organizations (ACOs) is “not ready for prime time.” In a response, Aaron McKethan, Mark McClellan, Elliott Fisher, and Jonathan Skinner state that ACOs represent a critical step away from volume-based health care payment and toward better health and better care at lower cost.
Everyone [...]

As President Barack Obama and his allies press their case for health care reform, the president exhorts that his vision will slow the growth of medical expenditures, expand coverage to millions, and improve the quality of care.  In the trenches, where millions of medical interventions occur daily, physicians and hospital managers who do the heavy lifting describe a [...]

Editor’s Note: In the post below, Uwe Reinhardt proposes to move from the present, price-discriminatory system of private-sector pricing of health services toward an all-payer system that could serve as a transition to an eventual system based on bundled payments per episode of illness for acute care, or capitation for chronic care.
In a response to Reinhardt’s [...]

Editor’s Note: In a separate post, Uwe Reinhardt proposes to move from the present, price-discriminatory system of private-sector pricing of health services toward an all-payer system that could serve as a transition to an eventual system based on bundled payments per episode of illness for acute care, or capitation for chronic care.
In his response below [...]

Editor’s Note: Health Affairs has recently published two studies looking at the association between hospital costs and quality. The first, by Ashish Jha and coauthors, appeared in our May-June issue, and the second by Laura Yasaitis, Amitabh Chandra, and coauthors, was published online.
Variations in spending and intensity of care, and the effects of these variations [...]

Editor’s Note: Health Affairs has recently published two studies looking at the association between hospital costs and quality. The first, by Ashish Jha and coauthors, appeared in our May-June issue, and the second by Laura Yasaitis, Amitabh Chandra, and coauthors, was published online.
Variations in spending and intensity of care, and the effects of these variations [...]

As the first H1N1 or so-called swine flu cases were diagnosed in Mexico, health officials all over the United States leapt into action. This is the test that they have been preparing for.
As the disease spread, public health professionals have been actively tracking the cases, working around the clock to analyze lab specimens, offering treatment to [...]

Editor’s Note: Health Affairs is proud to be a media partner for the Health 2.0 Meets Ix conference, which will take place April 22 and 23 in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the lead-up to the conference, which will focus on the interplay between the Health 2.0 and information therapy (Ix) movements, Health Affairs Blog [...]

A public-private alliance known as the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) has greatly improved aviation safety. A similar alliance among health care stakeholders could reduce medication and device errors and wrong-site surgeries, renowned patient safety expert Peter Pronovost and coauthors say in an article published April 7 on the Health Affairs Web site. Pronovost is a [...]

Editor’s Note: Health Affairs is proud to be a media partner for the Health 2.0 Meets Ix conference, which will take place April 22 and 23 in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the lead-up to the conference, which will focus on the interplay between the Health 2.0 and information therapy (Ix) movements, Health Affairs Blog and [...]

President Barack Obama’s budget, presented at a joint session of Congress on February 25, sets aside a reserve fund of $634 billion for financing health system reforms. President Obama explained his goal:  “Because of crushing health care costs and the fact that they drag down our economy, bankrupt our families, and represent the fastest-growing part [...]