Testimony--U.S. Health Reforms to Improve Access, Outcomes and Value: International Insights and Innovative Policies

TL;DR: Against a background of increases in the quality of care before the pay-for-performance scheme was introduced, the scheme accelerated improvements in quality for two of three chronic conditions in the short term, however, once targets were reached, the improvement in theQuality of care for patients with these conditions slowed, and thequality of care declined for two conditions that had not been linked to incentives.

TL;DR: If the United States could reduce amenable mortality to the average rate achieved in the three top-performing countries, there would have been 101,000 fewer deaths per year by the end of the study period.

TL;DR: The authors describes how U.S. hospitals now price their services to various third-party payers and self-paying patients, and how that system would have to be changed to accommodate the increasingly popular concept of consumer-directed health care.

TL;DR: With health insurance moving toward greater patient cost sharing, this study finds a sharp increase in the number of underinsured people, and the need for policy attention to benefit design, to assure care and affordability.