News & Updates
- Public Hearing - Disclosure of Health Care Claims Data (129 CMR 3.00)
- Recommendations of the Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System
- National Health Care Decisions Day Celebrated
- National Healthcare Decisions Day, 2009
- State Launches "My Health Care Options Week"
- My Health Care Options Website Launch
Publications & Reports
Health Care
Quality and Cost Council
Measuring Health Care Quality and Cost in Massachusetts
Measuring Health Care Quality and Cost in Massachusetts is the first annual publication developed by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy on behalf of the Council. The report provides a comparative view of hospitals based on performance measurements adopted by the Council for use on its website. Section 1 of the report examines the quality and the cost of care by procedure or condition; section 2 provides a summary of quality and cost information for each hospital. However, data for comparing both the cost and quality of a given service remains limitedly available.
Looking ahead, next year's report will include new quality measurements, including serious reportable events, hospital acquired infections and surgical care infections, as well as new cost measurements, including episodic costs associated with well baby and diabetes care. The addition of these and other measures in the future will help refine our understanding of the underlying causes of variations in the health care system and guide both policymakers and providers in establishing an effective and cost-efficient health care system.
- Full Report (PDF - 4.6MB) | Excel*
* Please note: This spreadsheet is intended for accessibility compliance.
Annual Meeting - June 25, 2009
The HCQCC held its Annual Meeting on June 25, 2009 at the Hoagland-Pincus Conference Center at UMASS Medical School.
The keynote speaker Cathy Schoen, M.S., Senior Vice President at the Commonwealth Fund, and lead researcher on the Commission on a High Performance Health System’s State Scorecard, discussed health care system redesign and aligning payment reform with outcomes and shared new data from the Commission's 2009 State Scorecard.
The meeting also featured a panel of local reactors included Senator Richard Moore, Dr. Charlotte Yeh of AARP Services, Inc., Chief Medical Officer – former CMS regional administrator, Dr. Randy Wertheimer of Cambridge Health Alliance, and Eileen McAnneny of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM).
Additionally, the Council set its agenda and priorities for FY10 in small workgroups with audience members.
Meeting materials are available below:
- Meeting Agenda (PDF) | Word
- Aligning Payment Reform with Outcomes by Secretary Bigby (PPT) | RTF
- Quality Measures Handout (PDF) | Word
- Cost Measures Handout (PDF) | Word
- Path to a High Value Performance Health System: Improving Value and Achieving Savings by Cathy Shoen (PDF) | PPT | RTF
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