Alliance Blog

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, ...

The price of health care in Washington state is all over the map. In fact, some health care providers charge as much as twice (or more) than what other providers charge for the same procedure, such as joint replacement or the birth of a child, even though the patients they see aren’t any sicker. Even ...

When you enter a doctor’s office, what kind of experience do you have? Does the staff treat you with respect? Does your doctor listen to you and seem to know your medical history? Are you able to get a timely appointment when you need it? Do you get reminders for your preventive health screenings or ...

Quality varies widely from one provider’s office to another and even from one doctor’s patient to another. Not all care is equally good. Learn what you can do to find a provider that will help you stay healthy and care for you when you need it. What is high-quality care? Good health care is the ...

As individual consumers, every time we make a purchase we must weigh cost and quality to determine value. Employers and labor union trusts purchasing health care benefits are doing the same thing—they’re just buying a lot at one time and at a big cost to their organizations. But what kind of care are your employees ...

Improving the performance of our health care system requires collaboration between all stakeholders – providers, purchasers, health plans and consumers. For a decade, the Alliance has worked to strengthen the role of the health consumer through a number of activities, including: Choosing Wisely, our patient experience survey, the Consumer Engagement Committee and the Own Your ...

Recently released results from a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust found employers continue to shift expenses to workers, with deductibles rising substantially faster than total health costs. According to the survey, 46 percent of covered workers have a deductible of at least $1,000 this year for single ...

Value-based purchasing is industry speak for something we do every day—buy things, services and experiences. In each purchase we weigh cost and quality to determine value. We can purchase health care services in the same way if we ask the right questions, collaborate with brokers, health plans and providers and push for answers. This takes ...