Alliance Blog

More than 100 million American adults have high blood pressure (a reading of 130/80mm Hg or higher) but only about half actually have the condition under control. High blood pressure was linked to 70% of all major cardiovascular events in the U.S. and deaths from high blood pressure are on the increase; between 2009 and ...

On June 10th, we received a letter from the Washington State Health Care Authority terminating contract negotiations with the Washington Health Alliance to serve as the Lead Organization for WA-APCD (LO). We began negotiations on October 24, 2019. I believe this is a very unfortunate outcome for our state. Throughout the negotiations, the Alliance was ...

Many healthcare organizations in Washington state are encountering workforce woes with worker shortage, burnout, turnover, etc. But how can leadership successfully address these challenges? Join the Greater Columbia Accountable Community of Health (GCACH) for a unique opportunity to learn from experts on ways to strengthen and optimize your organization’s workforce strategy at its Future of ...

Spine Care Partners help providers deliver simpler, easier & better spine care that improves quality while reducing costs. They engage providers in their value enhancing best practices care program and provide an app that helps members make good decisions about their spine health. Learn more about Spine Care Partners, LLC. The Vancouver Clinic has supported ...

There is no denying that we’ve had to face a succession of difficult situations and bad news–the challenges of navigating through a pandemic, escalating inflation, and the devastating impact of gun violence, to name a few.  It’s only natural to feel that we can’t exert much control over the course of external events but let’s ...

Award-winning director Jill Salvino travels the country opening hearts and minds with Between the Shades—a film that can be described as 50 conversations exploring the many different shades of being gay in America. As part of the Washington Health Alliance Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Initiative event on June 25th at the Egyptian Theater in Seattle, ...

Washington Health Alliance Director of Purchaser Strategies Denise Giambalvo and Director of Data Management and Analyst Mark Pregler co-presented “Driving Market Change through Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration” at the Civitas Networks for Health Member Roundtable Meeting on May 23rd. They reported on the analysis conducted by the Alliance in the first phase of this work, Aligning to ...

More than 250,000 people die in the United States each year because of medical mistakes, making it the third highest cause of death in the country. Researchers found that most medical errors are caused by systemic problems, including poorly coordinated care, fragmented insurance networks, the absence or underuse of safety nets and other protocols, and ...

The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions is holding its 6th Annual Leadership Summits on June 27 and 28 in Detroit, Michigan, with virtual and in-person options. This is an opportunity to network and learn from key healthcare and benefits stakeholders and change agents. Attendees typically include employers (senior leaders in benefits, HR, finance, healthcare strategy, ...

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has had serious repercussions on the nation’s mental health. A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) survey shows that 25.9 million past-year users of alcohol and 10.9 million past-year users of drugs other than alcohol reported that they were using these substances “a little more ...

Sixteen Washington Health Alliance purchaser/employer members participated in a survey of wellness programs and vaccination rates. Survey participants ranged in size from fewer than 100 to more than 25,000 employees/members. The survey was conducted at the request of Washington House Representative My-Linh Thai, who has special interest in how purchasers incentivize vaccines through wellness programs. ...

Are we talking to one another yet? That was the key question asked in the Washington Health Alliance and Bree Collaborative’s second Framework for Action Webinar in 2022 titled, Interoperability: Continuing to Remove Barriers to Value-Based Success. Based on the presentations and panel discussion, it’s not clear we have the answer or if that’s the ...