Profile: In-Depth Look at an Initiative that Is Making a Difference
As part of comprehensive health care reform efforts, states--including Vermont, California, and Pennsylvania--are seeking to improve the overall performance of the health system. Through efforts such as chronic care management, wellness and prevention, patient safety, and transparency through data collection and health information technology, they are trying to improve health care quality and at the same time contain costs. Read more »
Snapshots: Short Takes on Promising Programs
In September 2006, Delaware became the first state in the nation to begin building a network to connect all major sources of patient clinical information. Read more »
Pennsylvania hospitals have taken dramatic steps to decrease the rate of central line IV-associated sepsis, one of the most common forms of hospital-acquired infection. Read more »
To address quality issues and potentially reduce spending in the long term, some state Medicaid programs are creating programs to integrate physical and behavioral health services. One established program, the Washington Medicaid Integration Partnership, has already documented success. Read more »
Michigan recently enacted legislation intended to "promote the availability of health behavior wellness, maintenance, and improvement programs" in private insurance. Read more »
Federal Support for State Innovation
The Deficit Reduction Act authorizes the federal government to grant states a total of $150 million in "Medicaid Transformation Grants" over two years for the "adoption of innovative methods to improve effectiveness and efficiency in providing medical assistance under [Medicaid]." The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced awards totaling $103 million on January 25, 2007. Read more »
Commission Corner
The Commonwealth Fund's Commission on a High Performance Health System continues to strive for increased access, quality, and efficiency in the U.S. health care system. Learn about its latest publications and conferences. Read more »
Additional Resources
A roundup of recent articles of interest to state health policy stakeholders. Read more »
A list of national conferences you may want to schedule into your calendar. Read more »
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