Health Affairs Online Briefing

The Care We Need: NQF and 20 Years of Quality

Thursday, July 30, 2020

In 1999, at the urging of President Clinton’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry, the National Quality Forum was formed to promote health care quality through measurement and public reporting.

Twenty years later, with America in the grips of COVID-19, the work of NQF continues and is more important than ever. A new report from the National Quality Task Force entitled "The Care We Need: Driving Better Health Outcomes for People and Communities" provides a roadmap to consistent and predictable high-quality care for every person by 2030. The Task Force consists of nearly 100 leaders and diverse stakeholders from across the health care system.

At an online forum on July 30, Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil (who was a member of the Advisory Commission) will host leaders of the quality movement for a discussion of the report and its recommendations for improving the health and safety of all Americans.

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2020
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. (Eastern)
Place: Online details to come after you’ve registered

Speakers to include:

Shantanu Agrawal, President and CEO, National Quality Forum
Carolyn Clancy, Deputy Under Secretary for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks, Veterans Health Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs; Former Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Kenneth W. Kizer, Chief Healthcare Transformation Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, Atlas Research; Founding President and CEO, National Quality Forum
Mary Wakefield, Visiting Distinguished Professor, Practice of Health Care, Georgetown University; Member, President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry
Alan Weil, Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs

TODAY ON THE BLOG

COVID-19

Imposing The Costs Of Workplace Coronavirus Testing On Group Plan Coverage Would Place An Excessive Burden On Essential Workers
By Linda J. Blumberg, Sabrina Corlette, and Michael Simpson

Although testing is one of the most important tools we have for reopening businesses and schools, there is no comprehensive federal strategy for identifying which workers should be tested, how often, or how testing should be financed. Direct federal government funding for COVID-19 testing for workers in essential industries would spread these public health–associated costs broadly across all taxpayers. Read More >>

Maximizing Food Security For Unauthorized Immigrants During COVID-19
By David Velasquez, Jordan Kondo, Sarah Downer, and Emily Broad Leib

The US should take steps to meet the basic food needs of unauthorized immigrants in the US to protect them from the harms of COVID-19. Read More >>

DISPARITIES

Focusing Beyond Disparities In Patient Outcomes
By Jacqueline M. Chiofalo

When discussing health disparities, much attention is focused on disparities in health outcomes. However, these are the final culminations of systems stacked against minority groups. Greater research focus needs to be placed on structural and process measures of health to allow for comparisons within and between institutions. Read More >>

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Comparison of SDOH-Related Investments By Texas And California Medicaid Health Plans
By Shao-Chee Sim, Jeremy Cantor, Nicole Giron, Carolyn Wang Kong, Kay Ghahremani, and Jamie Dudensing

Given the important role of Medicaid health plans in California and Texas in addressing the health and social needs of large enrollee populations and the plans' interest in advancing the social determinants of health (SDOH) agenda in both states, two foundations sought to better understand the plans' investments in improving SDOHs. The authors compare results from surveys in California and Texas—the two most populous states in the US. Read More >>

AcademyHealth ARM

The AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting starts today! Meet our editors at the Health Affairs exhibit booth.

Congratulate Shreya Kangovi, a 2020 HSR Award winner, during Presidential Session: Rock Stars of HSR on Thursday, July 30, 3:15-4:15 PM. She won the award for her Health Affairs article, "Evidence-Based Community Health Worker Program Addresses Unmet Social Needs And Generates Positive Return On Investment."

Listen to Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil, who joins a panel to talk about structural racism during a live plenary on Thursday, August 6, 3:30-4:30 PM: Structural Racism in HSR: Honest Reflections on Our Role and the Path Forward.

IN THE JOURNAL

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE

Prices And Cost Sharing For Psychotherapy In Network Versus Out Of Network In The United States
By Nicole M. Benson and Zirui Song

Patients in the US are more likely to receive out-of-network behavioral health care, including treatment for mental health or substance use disorders, than they are to receive other medical and surgical services out of network. Nicole Benson and Zirui Song compare levels and growth of insurer-negotiated prices, patient cost sharing, and use of psychotherapy services in network and out of network in a large, commercially insured US population during 2007–17. Read More >>

A CLOSER LOOK—Masks

#MaskUp, #Masks4All, and other similar slogans have been trending for months now on social media. Recent studies published in Health Affairs show the positive impact of masks on fighting the spread of COVID-19. So why didn’t they work back in 1918, and why do we need them now? E. Thomas Ewing’s May 2020 Health Affairs Blog post explains the importance of history: "We need to learn the right lessons from the failure of flu masks in 1918. Masks can work if we wear them correctly, modify behavior appropriately, and apply all available tools to control the spread of infectious disease."

About Health Affairs

Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.

Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.

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