Insurance Coverage Is Not Enough: New Analysis of the Local Scorecard on Health System Performance
<p>A <a href="/publications/journal-article/2012/jun/geographic-variation-access-care-relationship-quality">new analysis</a> published today in the <em>New England Journal of Medicine</em> builds on research from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System’s <em>Rising to the Challenge: Results from a Scorecard on Local Health System Performance, 2012</em> to highlight another important finding: significant differences in access to care and health care quality persist even among people with insurance coverage. For example, the article finds that the percentage of insured adults ages 50 or older who received recommended screenings for cancer and other preventive care ranged from 31 percent to 58 percent across local areas. </p><p>Health insurance alone is not sufficient to guarantee equitable access and good health care outcomes, argue authors David Radley and Cathy Schoen of The Commonwealth Fund. The Affordable Care Act should help to improve health care access and quality for all by guaranteeing essential benefits and strengthening primary care, the authors conclude.</p>
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2012/jun/insurance-coverage-is-not-enough