A new series of case studies from The Commonwealth Fund focuses on three diverse regions that performed well on our recent Scorecard on Local Health System Performance despite substantial socioeconomic challenges. Western New York, West Central Michigan, and Southern Arizona may have higher rates of poverty than other similarly large top-performing regions, but they still manage to achieve high performance on multiple health care indicators, including lower costs for residents with Medicare or private insurance.
In their overview, authors Douglas McCarthy, Sarah Klein, and Alexander Cohen report that "social cohesion and pride of place" seem to enable distinct constituencies within each of the three communities to unify around ambitious goals: striving to make Greater Tucson the healthiest metro area in the nation; attracting new employers to the Buffalo region by enhancing its reputation for high-value care; and building a comprehensive health care system at reasonable cost in the Grand Rapids area.