June 15, 2008

Healthcare Topics and Trends Update

CHRT's monthly online newsletter, providing convenient access to recently-published articles relating to healthcare quality, sustainability and access.

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General Interest Topics

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Announces $300-Million Commitment to Dramatically Improve Quality of U.S. Health Care

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – June 5, 2008

RWJF announces a $300 million initiative designed to reduce significant regional/ethnic care disparities across the U.S. — and ultimately, if successful, provide a model for healthcare reform. The progress of this program will be important to monitor, particularly because the city of Detroit and the region of West Michigan are participating.

Health and Wellness: The Shift from Managing Illness to Promoting Health

Center for Studying Health System Change – June 5, 2008

CSHSC study finds many employers are adopting wellness programs, despite little evidence such programs save money. Concludes employers are looking for long-term strategies to address their rising healthcare costs and see wellness programs as a way to move more responsibility for health care decisions and costs to employees. Highlights the need for evaluation to test whether programs are effective, clinically or financially. Relevant to CHRT's work in the area of smart benefit design.

Embracing Accountability: Physician Leadership, Public Reporting, and Teamwork in the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality

Commonwealth Fund – June 6, 2008

This case study describes the origin and operational tenets of a "bottom-up" physician-led organization that has achieved voluntary public reporting of comparative performance information in both ambulatory and hospital settings. Specifically relevant to CHRT initiatives are the observations around the development of standard measures and sharing of best practices.

How Many Are Underinsured? Trends Among U.S. Adults, 2003 And 2007

Health Affairs – June 10, 2008 (Subscription required to view full text)

Authors use 2007 national survey data to provide a national estimate of the number of underinsured, updating a 2003 study. The authors conclude that benefit designs that reduce cost-sharing for high-value/cost-effective care and lower cost-sharing for families with low/modest incomes-not just coverage-will be necessary to achieve quality care and better health outcomes. See also 25 Million Americans Are Underinsured, a Commonwealth Fund video that previews the reports findings and reveals a dramatic rise in the number of Americans who have health coverage not adequate to protect them from high medical expenses.