Partnership for Quality Care: News Articles

Business-Health Coalition Focuses on Effectiveness of Chronic Care

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

March 19, 2008 -- At a summit on Wednesday highlighting innovative programs for chronically ill patients, a mix of labor unions and health care providers said health care change cannot be addressed without reshaping the current approach to chronic care.

Hosted by the Partnership for Quality Care, the event is the first of a year-long series focusing on the effectiveness of care. The coalition, which comprises labor organizations like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and major health care providers, launched last May to focus the national health care debate on quality care issues.

The coalition advocates for universal health care coverage and argues that the quality of health care—which includes access, affordability, efficiency, and cost containment—must be a central component to any universal health care debate.

Dennis Rivera, chairman of SEIU Healthcare and of the Partnership for Quality Care, said he expects an "intense debate" about the future of health care next year, and the coalition, he said, intends to have a voice in that debate.

Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said the partnership is not advocating that Congress just "throw money at the issue." Instead, he said, the coalition will determine which practices increase the quality of care, and will use those lessons "when it comes time to enact universal coverage."

"This conference is about what works," Raske said.

Wednesday's summit at Union Station's Columbus Club highlighted unique programs aimed at improving the quality of chronic care while containing costs for both providers and patients. Leaders of the coalition said that 30 percent of people—most with chronic conditions—account for more than 70 percent of health care costs in the United States.

One program featured at Wednesday's forum was a Kaiser Permanente initiative that the health insurer says has helped reduce heart disease mortality among its members in northern California by 30 percent. It prescribed generic medications to patients with high blood pressure and used preventive programs in an attempt to expand care while controlling costs.

Sal Rosselli, president of SEIU UHW-West, praised Kaiser Permanente for the "whopping" 30-percent decrease, which he said was possible "just by fixing the infrastructure."

Also highlighted on Wednesday was a post-discharge support program administered through Catholic Healthcare West that helped patients discharged from the hospital monitor their diseases. The group said the program has reduced health care costs by 28 percent.

George Halvorson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, said some of the pioneering programs to address chronic care are examples that "take your breath away."

Both Halvorson and Andrew Stern, president of SEIU, called the 2008 presidential campaign "exciting" because the health care debate has focused on the nuances of mandated health care instead of on whether or not the nation will have universal health care.

Stern placed special emphasis on the fact that for the first time in history, every Democratic presidential candidate has presented a universal health care plan.

He stressed the need for a fundamental, not incremental, health care plan, and said there would be "a moment in 2009" to get this done.

"The time is now, America can't wait," Stern said.

We're in it together

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

A century ago, Henry Ford revolutionized the business landscape with a simple philosophy: "Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible."

Critics scoffed, but sure enough, within a quarter of a century Ford was producing one-third of all the world's automobiles, and the labor and manufacturing techniques he pioneered were reshaping industries around the country.

People aren't cars, and hospitals aren't assembly lines. But at its core, Ford's goal is not far from our own: to provide the highest quality of care in the most costeffective way possible, and with compensation that attracts and retains the world's best professionals.

Some of the nation's leading healthcare providers are succeeding spectacularly. (More on that below.) But at the national level, we're failing miserably. We are not low cost: The U.S. spends a larger percentage of its wealth on healthcare than any other industrialized nation.

We are not any healthier. In fact, we're ranked 37th in the world according to the World Health Organization, right above Slovenia. Nor are we retaining or growing our workforce to meet future demand. By 2016, there will be a need for 4 million new healthcare workers, and that's a projection made before we factor in the new demand created by universal healthcare reform.

And sadly, with nearly one in six of all Americans uninsured, we know that we are not providing even basic healthcare to all of our patients.

The Partnership for Quality Care, to which both of our organizations belong, is an unprecedented coalition that brings together the largest healthcare providers and the largest national healthcare union in the country. Our members include medical institutions of all kinds -- public, private, religious, not-for-profit and teaching -- and healthcare practitioners at all levels, from chief executives to front-line nurses and healthcare workers.

Together, we represent 1 million healthcare workers and providers who understand from personal experience the challenge of providing the best quality care. They do it every day, for more than 50 million patients each year.

Our new partnership is spearheading a national effort to shape meaningful reform, starting with universal healthcare coverage for all Americans -- coverage that is secure, affordable and portable. Why? Because we need to bring quality -- a topic that encompasses access, affordability, efficiency and cost containment -- to the forefront of our nation's healthcare reform debate.

Americans know all too well that our healthcare system isn't working, and many healthcare providers, unions and elected officials alike have spent the past 20 years advocating for fundamental reform. But the healthcare debate that most Americans actually hear boils down to a choice between two options: Either expand access for the uninsured and pay more or control costs and get less.

In that climate of false choices, it's no surprise that we're further than ever from a real solution to our healthcare crisis. For too long, the healthcare debate in this country has been about financing. It should be about fundamentals.

And the fundamental focus, the most essential concern of our national healthcare system, should be the topic of quality. Costs can be contained, healthcare outcomes can improve across entire communities, and we can spur innovations in healthcare delivery that will change the lives of millions if we focus on quality.

As we all know, chronic-care patients account for only 20% of U.S. patients, but an incredible 75% of our healthcare spending. This week, on March 19, the Partnership for Quality Care will hold its first summit in Washington to target the core problem of chronic care and highlight cutting-edge solutions that are already improving health outcomes while containing costs.

In Northern California, for example, Kaiser Permanente has taken aim at heart disease with a combination of preventive programs and evidence-based medicine. By prescribing equally effective generic medications to patients with high blood pressure where appropriate, it was able to expand its management of heart disease while controlling costs.

The best measure of success? Heart disease mortality rates have dropped 30% among its Northern California members compared with the general population. Today, heart disease is no longer the No. 1 killer among Kaiser members in the region, bucking the national trend.

At the summit, a half-dozen other leading institutions will join SEIU Healthcare in unveiling real-world programs that are successfully addressing challenges all providers face such as using technology to evaluate the effectiveness of chronic-care regimes; reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the treatment of chronic disease; and involving chronic-care patients in the monitoring and treatment of their own conditions.

Healthcare reform is happening right now; the right models are being developed today in communities around the country. If we can bring quality to the center of the debate, we can bring innovation and excellence to healthcare delivery. There's no greater challenge than this, and no greater success story for our patients and communities.

Reprinted courtesy of Modern Healthcare

HealthPartners joins national health care reform partnership

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Bloomington, Minn.– HealthPartners today announced that it has joined the Partnership for Quality Care, a unique coalition of some of the nation’s largest and most innovative health care providers and labor unions, to help drive improvement and reform of the U.S. health care system.

Census Data Shows SCHIP Renewal is Critical

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The recent U.S. Census Bureau report contained truly sobering data on the number of Americans without health insurance. The report found that, from 2005 to 2006, the number of uninsured Americans grew from 44.8 million to 47 million, a 5% increase.

Few help extend children's insurance plan

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

While Congress considers how to pay for the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program this week, a fierce lobbying campaign is raging as several deep-pocketed interests work hard not to be the ones that get stuck with the bill.

Governors Up Pressure on Kids Health Bill

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The nation's governors stepped up pressure on the Bush administration Sunday to boost federal spending on a health insurance program serving low-income children.

Children's Health Bid Creates Strange Unions

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The multimillion-dollar lobbying effort to expand a children's health insurance program is creating some strange bedfellows. Seniors are joining with doctors. Unions with health providers. The pharmaceutical industry with one of its biggest critics, the advocacy group Families USA. They share the same goal -- expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Hatch and Leavitt in a Standoff over Children's Health Insurance

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Two powerful Utahns in Washington are in a standoff over a $35 billion expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Senate Panel Adds Billions for Health New York Times

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Defying a veto threat from President Bush, the Senate Finance Committee approved a major expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program on Thursday, with a majority of Republicans joining all Democrats on the panel in supporting the legislation.

TV ads urge Bishop to lead fight for children's health coverage

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

A coalition of unions and health-management companies seeking to build support for congressional reauthorization of children's health coverage is turning to a Georgia Democrat and a dozen other lawmakers for help.

Bush threatens to veto kid healthcare bill supported by Mitchell

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

In related news, the Partnership for Quality Care, a coalition of union and health care managers, on Friday is launching a $1.2 million television advertising campaign in support of increasing the tobacco tax to expand SCHIP.

President Bush Threatens Veto of SCHIP Legislation, Saying It Would Lead to People Dropping Private Health Coverage

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Senate Finance Committee members on Friday finalized a bipartisan agreement on SCHIP reauthorization that would increase five-year funding for the program from $25 billion to $60 billion by raising the federal cigarette tax from 39 cents to $1 per pack. SCHIP expires on Sept. 30.

New Push For Tobacco Tax Hike

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The Partnership for Quality Care launched what it describes as a “seven-figure” national TV ad campaign calling on people to press Congress for a 61-cent hike in the federal tobacco tax to underwrite an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Taxing the Smokers (More)

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The Partnership for Quality Care, former SEIU/1199 President Dennis Rivera's latest endeavor, has a new TV ad calling for the expansion of SCHIP - a federal program that helps states provide low-cost health insurance to families too wealthy for Medicaid, but too poor for private programs - funded through an increased cigarette tax.