- ACA Implementation & State Health Reform
- Coverage and Access
- Federal/State Issues
- Medicaid and CHIP
- Population and Public Health
- Providers and Services
- Acute Care
- Assisted Living
- Behavioral Health
- Child Development Services
- Chronic Care Management
- Community Health Centers
- Developmental Screening
- Early Childhood Services
- EPSDT
- Family Planning
- Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Home & Community Based Services
- Long Term Services & Supports
- Medical Homes & Health Homes
- Mental Health
- Nursing Homes
- Oral Health
- Preventive Care
- Primary Care
- Safety Net Providers
- Quality, Cost, and Health System Performance
- ACOs
- Adverse Event Reporting
- Care Transitions
- Comparative Effectiveness
- Cost Sharing
- Delivery System Reform
- Fraud and Abuse
- Health Care Workforce
- Health Information Technology
- Managed Care
- Medical Homes & Health Homes
- Medical Malpractice
- Patient Safety
- Payment Reform
- Performance Measurement
- Provider Payment Policy
- Quality Oversight
- Specific Populations
- Adolescents
- Childless Adults
- Children
- Children with Special Health Care Needs
- Dual Eligibles
- Elders
- Families
- Low Income People
- Parents
- People with Chronic Conditions
- People with Developmental Disabilities
- Transitional Youth
- Vulnerable Populations
- Young Adults
- Youth
- Youth in Foster Care System
- Youth in Juvenile Justice System
The ten state quality improvement partnerships featured in this toolbox vary along a continuum of formality and scope. They build on varying histories of collaboration in each state and arise from different needs and aspirations. Nevertheless, they share a long-term commitment to multi-pronged, strategic, broad-based, and systemic improvements. Many of the partnerships are linked to broader state health reform initiatives, and most explicitly or implicitly focus on improving quality of care and improving value in the health system. Descriptions of each partnership and information about their origins and governance structures are below.
| State Partnership | Description | Origin | Governance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado: The Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) | The Colorado Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) is an interdisciplinary entity that aims to bring consumers, businesses, health care providers, insurance companies, and state agencies together to develop long-term strategies for ensuring better value for the money spent on health care in Colorado each year and to improve the service delivery system to improve quality and drive down costs. | Executive order (2008) | Board |
| The Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) | The Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) is a state agency that works to develop and maintain a coordinated health policy agenda that combines the effective purchasing and administration of health care with promotion-oriented public health strategies. | Executive order and legislation (2005) | Board |
| Maine QI Partnership | Maine’s partnership of the Maine Quality Forum (MQF), Quality Counts (QC), and Maine Health Management Coalition (MHMC) is a partnership of three equal parties (a "three-legged stool") that supports a range of quality initiatives in the state. The partnership does not have its own mission, though the three organizations have complementary missions each related to improving health care quality and/or value in the state. | First formal partnering for Aligning Forces for Quality grant (2006) | No separate governance structure |
| Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council (HCQCC) | The Massachusetts Health Care Quality & Cost Council (HCQCC) is a broad umbrella organization whose mission is to develop and coordinate the implementation of health care quality improvement goals that are intended to lower or contain the growth in health care costs, while improving the quality of care, including reductions in racial and ethnic health disparities. | Legislation (2006) | Council Members and Advisory Committee |
| The Minnesota Health Care Value Exchange (HCVE) | The Minnesota Health Care Value Exchange (HCVE) is a partnership of five organizations: Buyers Health Care Action Group, Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, Minnesota Community Measurement, Smart Buy Alliance, and Stratis Health. Its purpose is to support HIT standards, quality standards, price standards, and incentives to promote high-quality, efficient care. | Accord (2008) | Board |
| Oregon QI Partnership | Oregon’s informal public-private partnership coordinates, communicates, and implements a range of quality initiatives in the state. Partners include the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation, the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, the Oregon Health Policy Commission, and the Oregon Health Fund Board (OHFB). The partnership has no formal name, but the OHFB has recommended that state health reform legislation formalize the partnership as the “Oregon Quality Care Institute.” | N/A | N/A |
| The Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Health Care Reform (GOHCR) | The Pennsylvania Governor's Office of Health Care Reform (GOHCR) administers the Prescription for Pennsylvania (Rx for PA), the governor’s health care reform initiative. It is a set of integrated strategies to eliminate system inefficiencies, better manage chronic conditions, eliminate hospital-acquired infections, enact insurance reforms, offer access to affordable insurance for the uninsured, and ensure that everyone has access to quality health care. | Executive order (2003) | No formal structure |
| The Rhode Island Quality Institute (RIQI) | The Rhode Island Quality Institute (RIQI) is an independent 501(c)3 organization that brings together CEO-level leaders from health systems, health insurers, physicians, state employers, consumer advocates, the state’s QIO (Quality Partners of Rhode Island), and academia. RIQI’s mission is to dramatically improve the quality, safety, and value of health care in Rhode Island. | Informal conversations (2002) | Board |
| The Vermont Blueprint for Health (Blueprint) | The Vermont Blueprint guides a comprehensive and statewide process of transformation designed to improve health maintenance for a general population, as well as health care and prevention for the most prevalent chronic conditions, thereby reducing the negative health and economic impact of poorly controlled disease. | Legislation (2003) | Advisory group |
| Washington State QI Partnership | The Washington Quality Forum was created within the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) to help spread the regional multi-stakeholder Puget Sound Health Alliance (Alliance)’s activities statewide. A hiring freeze and budget shortfall led to the Forum’s termination. The HCA and the Alliance continue to partner on health reform initiatives. | Legislation (2007) | N/A |
