Overview

States and Health Care Quality Improvement
Health care spending represents 16 percent of the United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—a far greater share than in any other industrialized nation. However, the U.S. does not enjoy higher levels of healthcare quality than its lower spending counterparts. American life expectancy is exceeded in 21 other countries; Infant mortality in the U.S. is the fifth highest of any industrialized country; More cancer cases per 100,000 people are reported in America than in half of industrialized nations; And the U.S. has the highest obesity rate in the industrialized world.[i]

The great variation of quality highlights the profound impact that quality variation could have in the health care system. State governments have been pioneers in linking quality improvement to cost reduction through innovative quality and price transparency initiatives—as well as the development of disease management programs to improve health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries and state employees. Governors in particular can play a major role in leading initiatives to house measurement data and create data sharing and transparency agreements across multiple stakeholder groups.

Focus of Center Activities:

• The Center will analyze trends in state health care quality improvement initiatives, and provide targeted technical assistance to states pursuing a health care quality agenda.

Related Links:

The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the lead Federal agency for research on health care quality, costs, outcomes, and patient safety. AHRQ serves as the health services research arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), complementing the biomedical research mission of the National Institutes of Health.

HHS Value Driven Health Care Initiative
The value-driven health care initiative was launched by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to help employers implement "four cornerstones of value-driven health care": utilizing health information technology; measuring and publishing quality information; measuring and publishing price information; and, creating positive incentives for high-quality, efficient health care.

National Quality Forum (NQF)
The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a private, not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for healthcare quality measurement and reporting. NQF builds consensus to set national priorities for quality improvement and validates quality measures created by other entities.

Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance (AQA)

The Ambulatory Care Quality Alliace (AQA) representatives a collaborative effort of providers, payers, and AHRQ for determining, under the most expedient timeframe, how to most effectively and efficiently improve performance measurement, data aggregation and reporting in the ambulatory care setting.

National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA develops quality standards and performance measures for a broad range of health care entities—such as the HEDIS data set for health plans. These measures and standards provide tools that organizations and individuals can use to identify opportunities for improvement.

Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS)
The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is a nonprofit health policy resource center dedicated to improving the quality and cost effectiveness of health care services for low-income populations and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. CHCS works directly with state and federal agencies as well as health plans to improve care quality for vulnerable populations.