August 22, 2011 - In this Commonwealth Fund issue brief, researchers describe how networks helped community health centers to use EHRs to improve chronic and preventive care and the barriers they faced.
Issue Brief
August 16, 2011 - For this Commonwealth Fund issue brief, the authors interviewed payer and provider organizations and state agencies involved in shared-savings arrangements about their approaches, including the populations and services covered, the assignment of providers, the use of risk adjustment, and the way savings are calculated and distributed.
Issue Brief
August 4, 2011 - In a new Health Affairs study comparing the costs physicians in the U.S. and Canada incur when they have to deal with multiple health insurers, Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers show just how much more U.S. practices spend than their counterparts across the border.
In the Literature
July 25, 2011 - This Fund report reports on the implementation of eight private ACOs that use, or are planning to deploy, a shared payer–provider risk payment model. Still in an early developmental phase, these payment models vary in their design and in how they define shared risk.
Fund Report
July 13, 2011 - This Commonwealth Fund-supported study evaluated the Alternative Quality Contract, a global payment system for providers developed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to replace fee-for-service reimbursement. The researchers found that the contract was associated with modestly lower medical spending and improved quality of care in its first year of use.
In the Literature
July 11, 2011 - Several countries, including New Zealand, Sweden, and Denmark, have replaced litigation with administrative compensation systems for patients who experience an avoidable medical injury. Such schemes enable patients to file claims for compensation without using an attorney.
Issue Brief
July 7, 2011 - According to this Commonwealth Fund–supported study Vermont's newly passed single-payer health care law will produce annual savings of 25.3 percent compared with current spending, cut employer and household spending by $200 million, create 3,800 jobs, and boost the state's overall economic output by $100 million.
In the Literature
June 28, 2011 - In this article, Claire Lemer, a 2004–05 Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, and her coauthors compare hospital medication systems in the United States and the United Kingdom, focusing on each nation’s efforts to prevent adverse drug events and medication errors.
In Brief
June 28, 2011 - Peter Sprivulis, a 2004–05 Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, and his coauthors estimated the costs and benefits of creating an interoperable health information exchange system among Australian health care providers and stakeholders.
In Brief
June 16, 2011 - The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation was created by the Affordable Care Act to identify, develop, assess, support, and spread new approaches to health care financing and delivery that can help improve quality and lower costs. This issue brief reviews the mission of the Innovation Center and provides perspectives from the research community on critical issues and challenges.
Issue Brief
June 15, 2011 - In many states, Medicaid programs have contracted out the delivery of health care services to publicly traded for-profit health plans focused on Medicaid members. The authors of this Commonwealth Fund study found that publicly traded plans had higher administrative costs and received lower quality scores than non-publicly traded plans.
Issue Brief
June 14, 2011 - The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is a temporary program implemented under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to make health insurance coverage available to uninsured individuals with preexisting conditions until 2014, when exchange-based health insurance becomes available to all. This issue brief examines enrollment trends, early changes to plan structures and premiums, and estimates of out-of-pocket costs by utilization pattern and type of plan.
Issue Brief
June 2, 2011 - The health care delivery system is changing rapidly due to the Affordable Care Act. Changes already underway include the creation of patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, and a national health information infrastructure. The authors of this new Commonwealth Fund brief propose a framework for a new tool to track delivery system reform.
Issue Brief
May 31, 2011 - California was the first state to create its own health insurance exchange after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. This brief reports on California's key choices and how they can inform policymakers in other states as they address important exchange design issues.
Issue Brief
May 26, 2011 - The Affordable Care Act is making a difference for young adults, among the groups most at risk for lacking health insurance in the United States. Young adults up to age 26 may now stay on or join their parent’s health plans if they include dependent coverage, and early reports indicate that at least 600,000 have done so.
Issue Brief