Covid-19: Six Months Later - A Timeline
-
(.pdf)
Published:9/17/2020
Source:BSG Analytics LLC - http://www.bsg.com/services/health-care-analytics/
Six months ago, President Donald Trump urged a 15-day social distancing effort to flatten the curve of COVID-19. At the time, there were 2,204 people who tested positive for the disease and 49 deaths. Covid-19: Six Months Later looks what happened in Wisconsin and nationally since then.
|
Focusing on Value: A Better Way to Assess Health Care Performance
-
(.pdf)
Published:9/16/2020
Source:HCTrends.com - https://www.hctrends.com
Wisconsin health systems provide good value to Wisconsin residents when cost, efficiency, quality and access to care are included in the analysis, according to a new study released today by HCTrends, a market-oriented forum for exploring health care solutions.
“Many studies focus solely on unit price, or a combination of unit price and utilization, overlooking the importance of quality, access and specifically the patient experience,” says Dave Jensen, editorial director of HCTrends and senior consultant at BSG Analytics LLC. “That is the basis of Medicare’s Value-Based Purchasing Program, a key component of the Affordable Care Act and it is of increasing interest to sophisticated health care purchasers.”
Drawing on 20 years of experience conducting its own studies, HCTrends reviewed more than a dozen studies comparing Wisconsin’s health care costs to other states or regions. Based on that analysis, it then identified attributes of a good study.
“Basically, studies should have a transparent methodology that can be replicated and that are based on credible and accessible data sources that appropriately align with the study’s stated objectives,” Jensen says. Some unit-price studies, for example, are limited to one or two insurers and are not necessarily representative of the agreements negotiated between providers and health plans throughout the state.
HCTrends worked with BSG Analytics™ LLC (BSGA) to analyze premium, utilization and quality data using publicly available data. It found that:
• Wisconsin health care providers use 6 to 10 percent fewer medical services than providers in other states while consistently achieving recognition as one of the top five states in the country in terms of the quality of care delivered
• When using health care premiums as a proxy for unit price and utilization, Wisconsin’s total cost of care has improved over time and it is now close to or at the national average
For more information about the study, please contact: Dave Jensen, editorial director, HCTrends, at djensen@inwriter.com, Telephone: 414.423.4425.
|