Alliance Blog

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a new agreement to standardize measures of health care quality. We applaud this announcement. The more organizations that can align around a common set of quality measures, the clearer the market signal will be regarding purchaser and payer expectations for performance on key indicators. The ...

I am pleased to announce that the Alliance will continue to contract with the Washington State Health Care Authority in 2016 for work related to the CMS/CMMI State Innovation Model grant. Under this contract, the Alliance will project manage all of the work related to implementation of the Washington State Common Measure Set on Health ...

This month, we’re excited to welcome Washington State University (WSU) Spokane as the newest purchaser member of the Alliance. Not only does WSU joining the Alliance help us extend our statewide reach and influence in eastern Washington, but they are also a nationally recognized research institution, bringing their expertise in health care to the Alliance. ...

Cervical cancer is one of the cancers that can be treated most successfully — if it’s detected early. And early detection is made possible through Pap test screening, which detects cervical cell changes and early cervical cancers before they cause symptoms. But before detection, there is prevention. And cervical cancer can also be prevented through ...

Last month, the Alliance, in partnership with the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA), unveiled the first set of results for the Washington State Common Measure Set for Health Care Quality and Cost, a set of 52 measures that enable a common way of tracking important elements of health and how well the health care system ...

Value in health care means high quality and a good patient experience at a fair price. Purchasers have a big role to play in helping their employees and members get high-value care through smart benefit design and employee communication and engagement. As a group, employers and health trusts have enormous power to shape the health care ...

The first step in reducing variation is to measure it, so we know where to target our efforts. In a well-functioning health care delivery system, everyone would be receiving a similar level of high-quality, evidence-based health care for the same condition or service. But findings in the latest Community Checkup report show variation remains a persistent ...

A report released today from the Health Care Pricing Project highlights the stark difference between Medicare and private health insurance pricing for common health procedures. The report has garnered media attention, including an in-depth article from The New York Times’ The Upshot. At the Washington Health Alliance, we believe the study is directionally accurate. However, it ...

The Alliance marked two important milestones last week. On December 10, we celebrated our tenth anniversary, gathering together many of the people who built the Alliance. Looking back and celebrating what we have accomplished, and recognizing the work we’ve done to get here, is important. But we are not resting on our laurels. We are ...

Key element of Healthier Washington initiative allows for common understanding of areas for improvement and enables moving the market toward value-based purchasing Widespread variation common, impacting the quality of care Washingtonians receive SEATTLE, December 8, 2015 – The Washington Health Alliance (Alliance) and the Washington State Health Care Authority today released the first results for the ...

The Washington State Common Measure Set for Health Care Quality and Cost is a set of 52 measures that enable a common way of tracking important elements of health and how well the health care system is performing. The Washington Health Alliance (Alliance) and the Washington State Health Care Authority today released the first results ...

In health care, high-value care means receiving high-quality care at the right price that leads to the best possible health outcome and reflects your values and needs. We put a lot of work into finding value when it comes to other major purchases. We should all be savvy shoppers when it comes to our health, ...