January 8, 2007 - Covering the uninsured tops experts' list of priorities for the new Congress, according to the ninth Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey. Other top priorities include controlling rising health care costs, reforming Medicare to ensure long-term solvency, and increasing the use of information technology.
Data Brief
December 19, 2006 - This report offers the first comprehensive analysis of how New York State could implement universal insurance. The report is a joint project of the United Hospital Fund and The Commonwealth Fund.
Fund Report
December 7, 2006 - Consumer-driven health plans are not catching on, according to a survey released today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and The Commonwealth Fund. Enrollment in consumer-driven plans remains small, and satisfaction continues to be lower compared with more comprehensive health insurance.
Issue Brief
November 14, 2006 - Employers say they should share in the cost of health insurance for employees, either by covering their own workers or by contributing to a fund to cover the uninsured, according to recent Fund-supported Health Affairs article.
In the Literature
November 13, 2006 - The National Committee for Quality Assurance's 2006 report on the performance of U.S. health plans found improvement in clinical quality measures for plans that collect and report performance data. In the first Commission on a High Performance Health System Data Brief, the implications of this report are evaluated.
Data Brief
November 7, 2006 - Creating a center to compare the effectiveness of drug treatments and medical procedures could stem the rising tide of health care costs and help health plans, hospitals, and public health programs "spend smarter" on health care, a new Fund-supported study finds.
In the Literature
October 25, 2006 - As currently practiced, well-child care subjects many young children and their families to unnecessary visits, while others fail to receive needed services. A new report outlines a vision for a high-performing system of well-child care capable of meeting the needs and expectations of America's families.
Fund Report
September 26, 2006 - In her testimony before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Health, Fund Assistant Vice President Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., explains that all evidence to date shows that health savings accounts and high-deductible health plans worsen, rather than improve, the health system's problems.
Testimony
September 20, 2006 - The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System has just issued its National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, the first-ever comprehensive means of measuring and monitoring health care outcomes, quality, access, efficiency, and equity. Its findings indicate that America's health system is falling short, especially given its resources.
Fund Report
September 20, 2006 - A Health Affairs Web Exclusive reports on the results of a new Commonwealth Fund scorecard of U.S. health care system performance. The scorecard, spearheaded by the Commission on a High Performance Health System, shows how the nation falls short on key indicators of health outcomes, quality, access, efficiency, and equity.
In the Literature
September 14, 2006 - As health care costs continue to rise, fewer and fewer workers are covered under employer-based plans. A new analysis of the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey finds that workers often face unaffordable options in the individual market, while families with employer coverage face ever-rising deductibles and other cost-sharing burdens.
Fund Report
August 17, 2006 - Most U.S. adults think the nation's health system is in need of an overhaul, according to a new survey from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. Forty-two percent of respondents reported experiencing poorly coordinated, inefficient, or unsafe care.
Fund Report
August 7, 2006 - In a new Health Services Research commentary, The Commonwealth Fund's Anne K. Gauthier, Karen Davis, and Stephen C. Schoenbaum argue for a major transformation of current methods of health care financing and delivery in the United States.
In the Literature
August 2, 2006 - In this consensus statement, the Fund's Commission on a High Performance Health System defines "high performance," outlines the U.S. system's current failures, and offers a strategic framework for addressing them through specific actions.
Fund Report
August 1, 2006 - Uninsured rates for Hispanic and African American adults are up to three times greater than the rate for white adults, according to new analysis of the Fund's Biennial Health Insurance Survey.
Issue Brief