Apply Now to the Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship Program in Minority Health Policy

“In the U.S., vulnerable populations, including people with low income, the uninsured, and disadvantaged minority groups, have greater difficulty obtaining health care, receive worse care, and experience poorer outcomes than other groups.

To help close this divide, The Commonwealth Fund supports training for physician leaders dedicated to creating high-performance health systems for vulnerable populations through the Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship Program in Minority Health Policy. Currently, the fellowship is accepting applicants for its 2014–15 class. The application deadline is Dec 16, 2013.” [Source: CCI Voice]

Apply Now to the Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship Program in Minority Health Policy

“In the US, vulnerable populations including people with low income, the uninsured, and disadvantaged minority groups, have greater difficulty obtaining health care, receive worse care, and experience poorer outcomes than other groups.

To help close this divide, The Commonwealth Fund supports training for physician leaders dedicated to creating high-performance health systems for vulnerable populations through the Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship Program in Minority Health Policy. Currently, the fellowship is accepting applicants for its 2014-15 class. The application deadline is December 16, 2013. Click here for more information.”  [Source: CCI Voice]

Aligning Incentives in Medicaid: How Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont Are Reforming Care Delivery and Payment to Improve Health and Lower Costs

"Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont are pioneering innovative health care payment and delivery system reforms. While the states are pursuing different models, all three are working to align incentives between health care payers and providers to better coordinate care, enhance prevention and disease management, reduce avoidable utilization and total costs, and improve health outcomes. Colorado and Minnesota are implementing accountable care models for Medicaid beneficiaries, while Vermont is pursuing multipayer approaches and moving toward a unified health care budget. This synthesis describes the common drivers of reform across the states, lessons learned, and opportunities for federal administrators to help shape, support, and promote expansion of promising state initiatives. It also synthesizes strategies and lessons for other states considering payment and delivery reforms. The accompanying case studies describe the states’ efforts in greater detail."  Click here to read the full case study.  [Source: The Commonwealth Fund]

The Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy

Supported by The Commonwealth Fund, the The Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy is a unique fellowship is designed to prepare physicians for leadership roles in transforming health care delivery systems and promoting health policies and practices that improve access to high performance health care for vulnerable populations including racial and ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged groups. Under the auspices of the Minority Faculty Development Program (MFDP) at Harvard Medical School (HMS), up to five one-year fellowships will be awarded per year, with the potential for an optional second year of practicum experience...The application deadline for the 2013-2014 Fellowship is December 15, 2012...Click here for more information.  [Source: The Commonwealth Fund]

Implementing Insurance Exchanges: Three Pioneering States

California, Colorado, and Maryland were among the first states to enact legislation establishing the health insurance exchanges called for in the Affordable Care Act. In a new Commonwealth Fund issue brief, Mark Hall and Katharine Swartz examine the divergent paths taken by these pioneering states. 

New NASHP Resource: Access and the Safety Net

Click here to visit NASHP's new web section for resources about the safety net and access to care for vulnerable populations. Since 2006, NASHP has developed a breadth of work on this topic with the support of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and The Commonwealth Fund. In addition to information on Access and the Safety Net initiatives, NASHP’s recent publications and other resources, including webinars, blogs, and meeting materials on this topic area are available.

What's Working to Control Costs

"Without major changes in the way the U.S. pays for and delivers health care, total national health spending is projected to rise to $4.6 trillion—or nearly 20 percent of GDP—by 2020. In a new blog post, Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis says policymakers looking for savings should "go where the money is," and focus on improving care for patients with multiple, high-cost conditions. The post is based on a presentation given today at a Washington, D.C., briefing cosponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund"...Read more.

Facilitating Improvement in Primary Care: The Promise of Practice Coaching

"Practice coaching, also called practice facilitation, assists physician practices with the desire to improve in such areas as patient access, chronic and preventive care, electronic medical record use, patient-centeredness, cultural competence, and team-building. This issue brief clarifies the essential features of practice coaching and offers guidance for health system leaders, public and private insurers, and federal and state policymakers on how best to structure and design these programs in primary care settings..."  Click here to access to overview and the issue brief.

Insurance Coverage, Medical Homes Are Keys to Reducing Health Disparities

"A new analysis from The Commonwealth Fund shows that having both health insurance and a medical home—an accessible primary care practice that knows its patients and helps to coordinate their care—dramatically reduces disparities in health and health care. The analysis, which was based on the Biennial Health Insurance Survey, finds that when people with low incomes have both insurance and a medical home, they are nearly as likely as those with higher incomes to receive recommended preventive services and to rate their care as excellent or very good.

The findings, say the authors, affirm the importance of the Affordable Care Act's provisions to expand access to health coverage and promote new models of care delivery, including medical homes." Read more. (Source: The Commonwealth Fund)

Improving Chronic Disease Care and Reducing Health Spending

The Commonwealth Fund Commission recently unveiled a community-based plan to enhance health and reduce spending by improving care for chronically ill patients and targeting quality improvement efforts to conditions that can yield the greatest benefit in a relatively short time. The initiative proposed by the Commission has the potential to help those most in need of coordinated care while also saving $184 billion in health spending over the next 10 years.

The report points out that 5 percent of the U.S. population accounts for 50 percent of all health care costs. Most people in this group have multiple chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and diabetes—conditions for which there are well-defined, standard metrics for gauging quality of care and measuring improvement.

To learn more about the proposal and the impact it would have on patients, communities, and overall health spending, download The Performance Improvement Imperative: Utilizing a Coordinated, Community-Based Approach to Enhance Care and Lower Costs for Chronically Ill Patients. Also read the New England Journal of Medicine Perspective by Commission chair David Blumenthal, M.D.

New Webinar: Evolving Medical Home Payment Models to Better Support Triple Aim Goal, May 24, 2:30-4:00 pm (EDT)

Register Here

State medical home initiatives are not static. Many leading states have learned from early initiatives and are moving forward with new payment models that further drive system goals, including lowered costs, improved quality and increased patient satisfaction. On this NASHP medical home webinar, Colorado, Rhode Island, and Vermont program leaders describe advances in their medical home initiatives, including where they started and where they hope to go. This webcast is made possible by The Commonwealth Fund.

Webinar: Building Medical Home Neighborhoods through Community-Based Teams

April 18, 2012; 2:30-4:00 pm (EDT)

Community-based teams can help medical home providers offer primary care that is coordinated, whole-person oriented, and integrated with local community resources. Nine states currently use this model; others are exploring similar strategies. Hear from program leaders in Alabama, Michigan, and Minnesota about why they are adding community-based teams to their medical home programs. Speakers will also discuss plans for financing and structuring these teams, and how the teams will manage care for complex Medicaid enrollees. This webcast is made possible by The Commonwealth Fund

> Register here

New report on Integrating a Safety Net into Health Care Reform

A 2011 Commonwealth Fund poll found that 98 percent of responding national health care opinion leaders believe that traditional safety net providers will still fulfill critical roles after implementation of the ACA. With the support of The Commonwealth Fund, NASHP formed the National Workgroup on Integrating a Safety Net into Health Care Reform Implementation to inform national and state policy development in addressing the roles of safety net providers in implementation of the ACA. This brief describes 10 overarching issues that the National Workgroup identified as ones that policymakers concerned with the safety net will need to consider in order to achieve health care reform goals, particularly for vulnerable populations.

> Read the full report

Affordable Care Act: Opportunities for Safety Nets

The Affordable Care Act has the potential to help safety-net providers deliver more accessible, higher-quality care to vulnerable populations. Read about the provisions of the law that will help safety-net providers in a new blog post by The Commonwealth Fund. In a related blog post, the National Academy for State Health Policy explores how these providers will be affected by participation in accountable care organizations.

Also available from The Commonwealth Fund is a podcast exploring what health reform means for safety-net providers.

Commonwealth Fund Examines State Roles in Accountable Care Organization Promotion

Colorado is one of 7 states profiled in the Commonwealth Fund's recently released report: On the Road to Better Value: State Roles in Promoting Accountable Care Organizations