Addressing Issues

Aligning Payment Policies with Quality Improvement: Resources

The information will be available online and in printed form, and will be offered in Spanish and Chinese, as well as English.

The Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH)
www.pbgh.org

The PBGH is a business coalition of 47 purchasers, seeks to improve the quality and availability of health care while moderating cost. Founded in 1989, the non-profit coalition is one of the most active in the country. www.pbgh.org

Midwest Business Group on Health
www.mbgh.org

The Midwest Business Group on Health is a coalition of employers working together to provide leadership and knowledge to continuously improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health services. Members include public and private employers of all sizes in an eleven-state region.

The Agency for Health Research and Quality
www.talkingquality.gov

TalkingQuality offers help on developing quality report cards that consumers will access and use. Many organizations are trying to educate and inform the public about health care quality. Unfortunately, nearly all are finding that the task of developing and distributing information that people can understand and use is a huge challenge. TalkingQuality offers expert advice and suggest approaches to overcoming this challenge so that consumers can be given the information they need to make sound decisions about their health care coverage and providers.

The National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH)
202-775-9300 or www.nbch.org

The NBCH has a membership of nearly 90 employer-led coalitions across the United States, representing over 7,000 employers and approximately 34 million employees and their dependents. These business coalitions are composed of mostly mid- and large-sized employers in both the private and public sectors in a particular city, county, or region. NBCH member coalitions are committed to Community Health Reform, including an improvement in the value of health care provided through employer-sponsored health plans and to the entire community.
The NBCH provides expertise, resources, and a voice to its member coalitions across the country and represents each community coalition at the national level. As a "coalition of coalitions," the NBCH spreads the tenets and practical applications of Community Health Reform to areas where employers have yet to organize their purchasing power. For five years, NBCH has pursued national purchasing initiatives to offer turnkey health care products and services to community coalitions and their member employers. The NBCH is dedicated to making the coalition movement the vehicle for meaningful change in the health care system throughout the United States.

Community Health Reform is based on a clear set of principles:

• Value-based health care purchasing - obtaining the highest quality care at the most reasonable cost;
• Measuring the comparative quality and efficiency of hospitals, physicians, and health plans in the community to identify the best value;
• Creating incentives to provide higher-value care through integrated delivery systems and continuous quality improvement; and
• Improving the overall health of the community.

The Washington Business Group on Health
www.wbgh.org/programs/cphs/disparities/solutions_series.php

Founded in 1974, the Washington Business Group on Health is a national non-profit organization representing large employers and providing practical solutions to its members' most important health care problems. The Business Group represents its 160 members, primarily Fortune 500 companies and large public sector employers who provide health coverage for more than 39 million U.S. workers, retirees, and their families. It fosters a quality health care delivery system and treatments based on scientific evidence of effectiveness. It hosts the Diabetesatwork.org website www.diabetesatwork.org (see below).

Central Florida Health Care Coalition (CFHCC)
www.cfhcc.net
The CFHCC is working on the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study - a patient satisfaction survey instrument developed by a consortium of Harvard Medical School, Rand and Research Triangle Institute and funded by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

Business and Managed Care Diabetes and Health Resource Kit
www.diabetesatwork.org
The National Diabetes Education Program in collaboration with several partners developed this online business and managed care diabetes and health resource. The kit will help businesses and managed care companies to assess the impact of diabetes in the workplace. It also provides easy-to-understand information for employers to help their employees manage their diabetes and take steps toward reducing the risk for diabetes-related complications such as heart disease.

Employees with diabetes or those who have friends and family members with diabetes can also use this resource as it provides more than 20 fact sheets on diabetes-related health issues.

Diabetesatwork.org will be especially helpful for:

• Large employers
• Small business owners
• Human resource and wellness professionals
• Occupational health professionals
• EAP representatives
• Diabetes educators
• Managed care wellness and benefit professionals

The site contains assessment tools, a planning guide, choosing a health plan, lesson plans, fact sheets and resources.

Making A Difference: The Business Community Takes on Diabetes
ndep.nih.gov/resources/business/index.htm

This report, developed by the Business and Managed Care Work Group of the National Diabetes Education Program is a call to action for business leaders to become involved in workplace and community activities to control diabetes-related complications. It provides information on the human and economic impact of diabetes and gives suggestions on how businesses can help employees with diabetes achieve improved glycemic control (published 9/99).

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