• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Events
  • Articles
  • Contact
kentuckiana health collaborative 1

Kentuckiana Health Collaborative

Building a bridge to better health, better care and better value

  • About
    • Mission
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Strategies
    • Improve Healthcare Quality
    • Make Healthcare More Affordable
    • Build Healthier Communities
  • Initiatives
    • Community Measurement
    • COVID-19
    • Health Equity
    • Kentucky Core Healthcare Measures Set
    • National Hospital Price Transparency Study
    • Opioids and the Workplace
  • Members
    • About the Membership
    • Current Members
    • Member Resources
    • Member Portal
  • Join
Home / Measurement / Where’s the Actionable Data on Cost and Affordability?

Where’s the Actionable Data on Cost and Affordability?

Filed Under: Measurement June 28, 2017, Randa Deaton

It isn’t often that healthcare costs can be made into a riveting story or an engaging topic, but that is exactly what Mylia Christensen, Executive Director of Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation (Q Corp), did at the KHC’s June Forum. She explained that Oregon was experiencing improvements in quality and patient experience, yet there was less actionable data to address the cost and affordability of healthcare in the state.

Mylia leads one of the five trailblazing regional healthcare improvement collaboratives that joined forces to develop regional total cost of care information with the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI), with support from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In comparing total cost of care across providers in Oregon, they were able to see considerable cost variation among clinics and between regions. They also found that rural clinics had higher cost and lower quality, on average. As part of the first national total cost of care comparison report, Oregon was shown to have higher commercial costs than other states.

© 2016 Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement – From Claims to Clarity: Deriving Actionable Healthcare Cost Benchmarks from Aggregated Commercial Claims Data

To determine what issues contributed to higher pricing, they identified several drivers of cost and utilization. The factors affecting commercial pricing were provider and plan market power, cost-shifting due to low Medicare reimbursement, regional cost of living, and location of service. The factors affecting utilization were health status (morbidity), physician practice patterns, patient cost-sharing level, state mandates, and providers in network. Mylia also noted that states with lower utilization like Oregon often have higher prices of service.

During the event, participants identified the following needs for moving to greater transparency in the community: interest, funding, data infrastructure, trust, and market cooperation. The KHC will continue this dialogue at NRHI’s National Affordability Summit, “Why Does Healthcare Cost So Much? And What Can We Do About It?” The September Summit is open for registration. We look forward to learning what other trailblazers like Oregon are doing to address the affordability of healthcare in their communities.

Similar Articles

KCHMS Blog Photo

Call for Applications – 2021 KY Core Healthcare Measures Set Committees

December 17, 2020

The Kentuckiana Health Collaborative is filling rosters for the selection of the 2021 Kentucky Core Healthcare Measures set (KCHMS), a core healthcare measures set for Kentucky’s primary care providers, with the ultimate goal of aligning the priorities of Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurers. The KCHMS was first released in June […]

Read More

Community Reports Highlight Improvements in Quality Metrics, but the Effects of COVID-19 on Primary Care Remain to be Seen

May 22, 2020

In April, the Kentuckiana Health Collaborative sent private reports to nearly 450 group practices throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Soon after, the KHC released its annual community reports, featuring highlights of where the community performs well and where there are gaps in care. On Thursday, the KHC held a webinar […]

Read More

Kentuckiana Health Collaborative Releases Community Measurement Reports, Collects Data on Opioid Prescribing

April 30, 2020

The Kentuckiana Health Collaborative is pleased to release the 2018 Community Measurement Reports, which also includes opioid prescribing data as part of the KHC’s partnership with the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE). For the last 15 years, the KHC has led the way in healthcare quality measurement and transparency through […]

Read More

Get the latest articles and updates.

Our email newsletter shares our latest research, initiatives and events.

Footer

  • About
    • Mission
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Members
    • About the Membership
    • Member Resources
    • Join the Membership
  • Strategies
    • Improve Healthcare Quality
    • Make Healthcare More Affordable
    • Build Healthier Communities
  • Initiatives
    • Community Measurement
    • COVID-19
    • Health Equity
    • National Hospital Price Transparency Study
    • Opioids and the Workplace
  • Connect
    • Events
    • Articles
    • Contact
khc logo blue

(502) 238-3603
1415 Bardstown Road, Mailbox 19, Louisville, KY 40204

Copyright © 2021 · Kentuckiana Health Collaborative · Privacy Policy · Sitemap · Stop Animations

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok