Budget Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Fiscal Year 2007: Performance Budget Submission for Congressional Justification (continued)

E. Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART)

PART Summary Table, FY 2004-07 (Dollars in Millions)

FY 2004 PARTs	FY 2006 President's Budget	FY 2007 Request	FY 2007 +/- FY 2006	Narrative Rating
Data Collection and Dissemination	$63	$65	+$2	Moderately Effective
FY 2005 PARTs
Patient Safety	$84	$84	$0	Adequate
FY 2006 PARTs
Pharmaceutical Outcomes	$26	$26	$0	Moderately Effective
FY 2007 PARTs
Note: AHRQ is in the process of conducting internal PART reviews on the balance of our programs. Information resulting from these reviews will be included in future iterations of the budget.

Data Collection and Dissemination

This program collects data on the cost (MEPS), use (HCUP), and the quality of health care in the United States and develops and surveys beneficiaries regarding their health care plans (CAHPS®). In FY 2004 and FY 2005, the portfolio was given additional funding due to performance-based improvements coming from the PART. This funding supports efforts to ensure continued collection and availability of national health care cost, use, and quality data. This support was not provided in FY 2006 or 2007.

Although the cost of the survey does not increase in FY 2007, an additional $1,940,000 in technical support is provided within the HCQO budget activity for the MEPS program. These funds will support a portion of the incremental funding needed to operationalize the transition in MEPS to a Windows®-based computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI) system ($1,100,000) and to facilitate linkages between the MEPS Insurance Component and the MEPS Household Component ($840,000) that enhance analytical capacity.

Patient Safety

Patient safety research is a vital component of AHRQ's continuing efforts to make improvements in the safety and quality of care. The FY 2007 Request includes $84 million. This level of support provides $35 million in new funds for the Ambulatory Patient Safety Program. AHRQ's new Ambulatory Patient Safety program is comprised of research and implementation activities aimed at improving the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of ambulatory care, with a special focus on the primary care setting.

Pharmaceutical Outcomes

In FY 2005, AHRQ requested $27 million for this portfolio, including $15 million in funds authorized by Section 1013 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. These funds will continue into FY 2006 and 2007. These funds support a series of state-of-the-science studies that review existing scientific information on which drugs work best, for which patients, and under what circumstances. This portfolio also includes funding for the Centers of Excellence for Research and Therapeutics (CERTs) program. These grants are a vital funding component of this portfolio. The CERTs currently consist of seven research centers and a Coordinating Center. The CERTs receive funds from both public and private sources with AHRQ providing core financial support. The CERTs seek to develop new and effective ways to improve the use of therapeutics throughout the nation's health care system.

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Budget Activities

The budget is arrayed by AHRQ's budget activities:

Health Care Costs, Quality, and Outcomes (HCQO).
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
Program Support.

Health Care Costs, Quality, and Outcomes (HCQO): Summary

The purpose of the Research on Health Care Costs, Quality and Outcomes activity is to support and conduct research that improves the outcomes, quality, cost, use and accessibility of health care. The Agency has identified four main strategic plan goal areas:

Safety/Quality.
Efficiency.
Effectiveness.
Organizational Excellence.

For details, select Research on Health Costs, Quality, and Outcomes.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS): Summary

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is the only national source for annual data on how Americans use and pay for medical care. It supports all of AHRQ's research-related strategic goal areas. The survey collect detailed information from families on access, use, expense, insurance coverage, and quality. Data are disseminated to the public through printed and Web-based tabulations, micro data files, and research reports and journal articles.

MEPS provides public and private sector decisionmakers with the ability to:

Obtain timely national estimates of health care use and expenditures, private and public health insurance coverage, and the availability, costs and scope of private health insurance benefits among the U.S. population.
Analyze changes in behavior as a result of market forces or policy changes (and the interaction of both) on health care use, expenditures, and insurance coverage.
Obtain information on access to medical care, quality and satisfaction for the US population and for those with specific conditions, and for important subpopulations.
Develop cost and savings estimates of proposed changes in policy.
Identify the impact of changes in policy for key subgroups of the population (i.e., who benefits and who pays more).

For details, select Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Program Support: Summary

Program Support provides support for the overall direction and management of the AHRQ. This includes the formulation of policies and program objectives; and administrative management and services activities.

For details, select Program Support.

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Current as of February 2006

Internet Citation:

Budget Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Fiscal Year 2007: Performance Budget Submission for Congressional Justification. February 2006. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/about/cj2007/cjweb07.htm

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