Alliance Blog

We are pleased to announce that the Alliance has been selected by the Washington State Health Care Authority to lead implementation of the Washington State Common Measure Set for Health Care Quality and Cost, and that the Alliance’s Community Checkup website will host the publicly available results going forward. The starter set of more than ...

This month, we’re excited to welcome two new members to the Alliance: MPIRICA Health Analytics and the City of Kirkland. MPIRICA is an up-and-coming health analytics firm and we are excited to have them join the conversation. The City of Kirkland joins our other public purchaser members who bring the perspective of a public purchasing ...

In a recent New Yorker article, Atul Gawande explores the ongoing crisis of unnecessary care in the United States, discussing the issues with doctors, patients and those who study the issue from coast to coast. What it all comes down to is this: the United States health care system is facing an epidemic of overdiagnosis, ...

Coalition for Health Care Cost Transparency applauds Governor Jay Inslee and state legislators for bi-partisan effort Olympia, May 14, 2015—At a ceremony in his office today, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation to establish a fully functional All-Payer Claims Database (APCD), which will give consumers, providers and employers important new information to understand the quality ...

Last week, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released the results of a poll conducted in March that found three-quarters of emergency physicians have seen an increase in emergency room (ER) patient visits since early 2014, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect. The poll mirrors what had been anticipated by ACEP, as ...

In a victory for health care transparency, the Washington State Legislature, with strong bipartisan support, passed a bill to establish a functional, state-mandated All-Payer Claims Database (APCD), which is a good step forward in giving health care purchasers and consumers more information about pricing among health care providers in our state. I want to thank ...

This month, we’re excited to welcome a brand new member, Compass Professional Health Services, and a returning member, Vera Whole Health, to the Alliance. Both bring expertise in innovative health care delivery models. And both will help us continue to deliver on our mission building a strong alliance among patients, doctors, hospitals, purchasers, health plans ...

For many people, the first time they heard about “value-based” payment is with the passage of the “doc fix” bill, which averts a 21-percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors while at the same time moving future reimbursement to pay-for-performance and away from traditional fee-for-service medicine. But for the last four years, a team of ...

As the end of April nears, so does the final date of the Washington Health Alliance’s participation in the Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) program. AF4Q has been the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) signature effort to lift the overall quality of health care in targeted communities and provide models for national reform. The Alliance ...

Governor could finally give consumers an effective All-Payer Claims Database OLYMPIA, Wash., April 20, 2015—In a big victory for the Coalition for Health Care Cost Transparency, the Legislature, with huge bipartisan support, late last week passed a bill to establish a fully functional All-Payer Claims Database (APCD), which would give health-care consumers something they have long ...

The Alliance knows that health care is local and we are always excited to visit leaders in the communities where they work and live to see health care in action. This is why the Alliance hosts community meetings throughout the year to talk about public reporting and our flagship report, the Community Checkup. Not only is ...

In 2013, the Alliance received a grant from ABIM Foundation to advance the goals of the Choosing Wisely® campaign in Washington state. Thanks to strong partnerships with fellow grantee Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and the Washington State Hospital Association, our state has been a leader in this national program. We’ve accomplished much in these ...