child health insurance nevada

Partnership for Quality Care: Press Releases
Press Releases

• Statement from the Partnership for Quality Care Regarding Renewal of Massachusetts Medicaid Waiver
  

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  October 1, 2008
  Contact:  Kate Navarro-McKay, 646-246-5906
  
  The Partnership for Quality Care applauds CMS and Governor Deval Patrick for their support of Massachusetts' landmark achievement in expanding health care coverage.  Yesterday's extension of the state's Medicaid waiver enables Massachusetts to clear a critical funding hurdle as it continues to expand health care coverage to the uninsured.  It also provides yet another example of how continued partnership of government, providers, labor, business and patients is fundamentally necessary to any national model that seeks to solve our health care crisis. 
  
  This shared commitment is paying dividends in health care coverage that we can measure: in August, Massachusetts reported that two-thirds of its uninsured residents had obtained coverage, and the state's burden of uncompensated care had dropped 40 percent.  We are hopeful that in the future Massachusetts will be able to share new information on how the quality of care is improving as a result of a stable, sustained system where virtually every patient has affordable, comprehensive health care.   With comprehensive coverage, quality across state and national health care delivery system can become a reality.
  
  The PQC has long stressed the importance of federal partnership with states to lead on the improvement of health care.  However, states cannot make the investment to reform our health care system to improve access, efficiency, affordability, and quality on their own.  Especially in a time of fiscal strain, they need the leadership of the federal government to help make investments that will pay off for decades to come.
  

  ###
  
  

• Statement on the Census Bureau Report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007
  

  For Immediate Release August 26, 2008
  Contact:  Kate Navarro-McKay 646-246-5906
  
  The U.S. Census Bureau report released today included the encouraging news that the number of uninsured in the U.S. declined slightly in 2007 from 47 million to 45.7 million, but a deeper look at the trendlines shows much cause for concern.  
  
  2007 marked the end of an economic expansion, and 15.3% in America were still uninsured.  At the end of the last economic expansion in 2000, 13.7% were uninsured -- 7.3 million fewer people than today.      
  It is also clear that there is an increasing dependence on public financing and safety net programs.  Today's report shows the 2007 gains in coverage were due entirely to growth in government-sponsored programs, as enrollment in private insurance -- both individually purchased and employer-based -- continues to decline.  
  
  As more and more states face budget gaps because of the economic downturn, it is more vital than ever to ensure that they have support for the public programs that provide coverage during economically difficult times.     
  
  Overall, these findings confirm what healthcare providers and workers see every day.  With 45.7 million still uninsured at the height of an economic expansion, America's healthcare system is failing our nation.
  
  Children and adults without insurance lack sufficient access to primary and preventive care, and are at greater risk of missing vaccinations and checkups. Far too many end up in emergency rooms for expensive treatment of conditions that could have been far more effectively treated, at far less cost, had they received care sooner.  In addition, this year the Institute of Medicine found that in 2006, the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured cost the U.S. economy between $102 billion and $204 billion in lost productivity alone.
  
  Today's Census Bureau report affirms the dire need for reliable and affordable access to health care coverage for all Americans within a reformed health care system that aggressively promotes improved quality and efficiency.
  
  *******
  
  About the Partnership for Quality Care
  
  Launched in May 2007, the Partnership for Quality Care is a unique nationwide organization, a labor-management partnership of healthcare providers and healthcare workers. It includes more than 1 million workers, as well as public, private, religious, teaching and nonprofit hospitals and integrated health systems caring for more than 50 million patients annually. 

• Frontline Caregivers, National Healthcare Providers Unveil What's Working in the Battle Against Chronic Disease
  For Immediate Release:
  March 19, 2008
  Contact: Mark Glaze, (202) 271-0982
  
  Frontline Caregivers, National Healthcare Providers Unveil What's Working in the Battle Against Chronic Disease: 11 Models Founded in Quality Form Cornerstone to Healthcare Reform
  
  Summit Demonstrates Proven Techniques to Enhance Treatment and Access for Chronic-Care Patients
  
  Washington, DC -- Nurses, doctors and health care workers joined CEO's from a nationally renowned group of health care providers in sharing nearly a dozen pioneering programs that contain costs while improving the quality of chronic care at a summit hosted today by the Partnership for Quality Care (PQC).
  
  The summit, Confronting the Chronic Care Challenge, was the first in a yearlong series of events designed to bring quality -- a topic that encompasses access, affordability, efficiency, and cost containment -- to the center of the health care debate, by presenting practical solutions to some of the most difficult problems in health care today. Launched in May 2007, the PQC unites more than 1 million nurses, resident physicians and health care workers and providers treating more than 50 million patients a year. The coalition is dedicated to the reform and improvement of our health care system to ensure that affordable, high-quality health care is available to every American.
  
  "Any real attempt to manage health care costs must address the fundamental question of how we can affordably provide the highest quality care to the most challenging patients in our health care system," said Dennis Rivera, PQC Chairman and Chairman of SEIU Healthcare, the health care division of Service Employees International Union (SEIU). "If we focus on quality, we can change our health care system to contain costs and improve outcomes for chronically ill patients."
  
  Chronic care patients are those suffering from recurring orpersistent illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease. They represent only 20 percent of patients but account for 75 percent of health care spending.
  
  The summit comes as health care costs continue to rise and the issue of chronic disease impacts more families. "Among industrialized nations, America spends the most on health care and gets the least," Rivera noted. "But it doesn't have to be this way. The purpose of the summit is to share what we can achieve when we put quality at the center of health care reform."
  
  "We need to build a new American health care system, one that guarantees quality health care that every person in this country can afford," said SEIU President Andy Stern. "And to do that, we all need to be part of the solution, including the health care workers who are on the front lines of the health care crisis. Every day, they see first-hand patients and families being devastated by a broken system -- and they also know better than anyone what works and what doesn't."
  
  George Halvorson, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and PQC Secretary, noted that many people are unaware that such innovative programs exist or, worse, doubt that change is possible. "Too often, voters are told that increasing access to healthcare is only possible if costs are raised and quality lowered. This is a false dichotomy," Halvorson said. "In fact, leading health care providers have already implemented programs that contain costs, expand access, and, most importantly, improve the quality of care for chronic patients. That points the way to nationwide reform."
  
  The groundbreaking programs highlighted at the summit included:
  
  • SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West and Kaiser Permanente successful implementation of an electronic health record that has led to a 57 percent reduction in hospital medication errors;
  • Montefiore Medical Center's self-designed electronic tool to monitor the health of thousands of patients and act as an essential safety net for patients with chronic conditions;
    
  • Massachusetts General Hospital's model for reducing persistent ethnic and racial disparities in the treatment of chronic care through its Disparities Solution Center;
    
  • Catholic Healthcare West's post-discharge support program that reduced the cost of care by 28 percent for patients by aiding them in monitoring and managing their disease;
  • Jackson Health System creation of a separate intake clinic to intervene and assess congestive he