News and Insights

Managing Variation in Cost and Quality

Timid Federal Health Care Policy Sets Digital Innovators Up for Failure

Morning Consult

According to our fourth-annual State of Population Health Survey, progress toward such accountability has stalled. In large part, this is because progress requires providers to choose to put some portion of their revenues at risk, based on their ability to manage cost and quality. Years of pilot programs by the Department…

Three Keys to Defending Your Margins

hfm

Healthcare consolidation took a new turn this year, and in a big way. On top of deals by Anthem and Optum to acquire delivery operations, the formation of the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan (ABJ) healthcare partnership has raised anxiety to unprecedented levels. Margin compression was already a fact…

Hospital Star Ratings Show Patients, Providers That Not All Care Is Equal

RealClearHealth

It’s not as user-friendly as Consumer Reports, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ overall star rating system represents progress in getting data into the hands of health care consumers. And despite some methodological shortcomings, it puts providers on their toes, which is a good thing. On July 27,…

Star Ratings Delayed, But Need for Transparency Remains

RealClearHealth

Hospital industry lobbyists earned their money recently when the Obama administration bowed to Congressional pressure and delayed the release of a new system to rate hospitals based on health outcomes for patients treated under Medicare. The delay is likely to be just a short-term respite for the industry. Hospital ratings…