Alliance Blog

The Alliance’s work continues to draw diverse audiences for its innovative approach to using data to improve the quality of health care. Last month, Washington Health Alliance Executive Director Nancy Giunto presented virtually at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ 67th annual conference. The IFEBP has 32,000 members, including Taft-Hartley management and labor trusts, ...

This month, the Washington Health Alliance ended our 2021 Framework for Action Series with the Bree Collaborative with an inspiring and informative discussion on how multi-payer strategies can support value-based payment. “Teamwork” is the most important component of primary care transformation at the practice level, according to Lisa Dulsky-Watkins, MD, Director, Multi-State Collaborative with the ...

This summer we released Aligning to Drive Value, a white paper describing our progress on a grant-funded project that leveraged the Alliance’s data and convening efforts with eight of our purchaser members representing more than 500,000 covered lives in Washington State. The primary aim of the effort was to use data-driven insights and collaboration to ...

I am very pleased to let you know that Sharon I. Eloranta, MD, will be joining the Washington Health Alliance on October 11, 2021 as the Medical Director of Performance Measurement and Care Transformation. Sharon is the perfect fit for this inaugural role given her rich background and professional experience, as well as her long ...

I am writing this message as I wind down my time at the Alliance in anticipation of taking on a new opportunity and returning to Kansas City, the place I called home for more than 30 years before joining the Alliance. As I reflect on what has been a shorter than expected, but very important ...

Washington Health Alliance Executive Director Nancy Giunto has served on the board of the Network for Regional Health Improvement for several years. On October 1st, NRHI became affiliated with SHEIC, Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative, to create Civitas Networks for Health, a national collaborative representing 95% of the United States and comprised of member organizations ...

Washington state is the first in the nation to implement a publicly-funded long-term care support and services program. The law, passed in 2019, was designed to help address the significant need of the aging population and to reduce the financial burden on the state’s Medicaid program. Starting January 1st, employers are required to collect payments ...

It is hard to acknowledge that as far as we have come with the pandemic, we still find ourselves in rough and uncharted waters. When the CDC first announced that those who were vaccinated could unmask, I was among the many who breathed a sigh of relief, believing there was hope that it was just ...

One of the great privileges we have at the Washington Health Alliance (Alliance) is setting the table for meaningful conversation between colleagues and key stakeholders who share a common interest in delivering the best health care possible to residents of Washington state. We are fortunate to have physician leaders focused on ensuring patient safety, delivering ...

Letter from the Director of Performance Improvement & Innovation Approximately half of all Americans get their health insurance coverage as an employee or union member. That number is even higher in Washington state with 52.9% of us covered through employer-sponsored health insurance – whether provided directly to employees or through a union agreement. Spending for ...

Unite Us connects health and social care. Their team standardizes how health and social care providers communicate and track outcomes together. They align all stakeholders from healthcare, government, and the community around a shared goal to improve health. Their proven infrastructure provides both a person-centered care coordination platform and a hands-on community engagement process; they ...

From Director of Performance Improvement and Innovation Karen Johnson As the future brightens and our lives start to look and feel “normal” again, it seems fitting to reflect on all that has transpired over the last year and a half. We have been tested and challenged in ways few of us could have imagined. As ...