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November 15, 2007Commonwealth Fund Commission Issues Reform Recommendations for Next President |
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From Commonwealth Fund: Ensuring that everyone in the United States has health insurance is essential, but it is not enough to drive the kind of reform the health system needs, according to a new report released today by the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. Guaranteeing affordable health insurance for all, changing the way doctors and other health care providers are paid, better organizing and coordinating care delivery, investing in implementing an electronic information system in a reasonable period of time (aiming for five years), and establishing national goals and doing what it takes to reach them through strong national leadership should all be on the next President's health care agenda, says the report. Members of the commission are a diverse group of leading health policy experts from government, private industry, health care delivery organizations, academia, and professional associations. "This report outlines how essential it is that we pursue improvements in health care quality and efficiency at the same time as we pursue universal coverage," said Dr. James Mongan, Commission Chair and CEO of Partners Health System. ALIGNED INCENTIVES AND EFFECTIVE COST CONTROL: Slowing growing health care costs by rewarding doctors and hospitals for providing high quality, cost-effective care; moving away from fee-for-service to a model where providers share the accountability for the total care of their patients; and fix the payment disparity between primary and specialty care doctors. This report follows the Commission's recent publication on how best to achieve universal coverage, A Roadmap to Health Insurance for All: Principles for Reform.
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