Schwimmer Script Blog
Extend Medicaid Coverage for New Moms
Recently I was invited to share testimony in Trenton on a package of bills to improve outcomes for new mothers and their babies. I provided testimony to both the Assembly and the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committees. As the state explores ways to reduce maternal deaths, one overarching change seems absolutely necessary:…Read More…
Share Your Real-World Case Studies of Improving Quality
I urge anyone committed to improving health care quality to read this case study from Texas Children’s Hospital’s Pavilion for Women, which outlines how the organization reduced the use of episiotomies by more than 60 percent in five years. Today, these surgical incisions — which increase complications and maternal deaths — are used in just 3.4…Read More…
Driving Payment Reform — A Roadmap for 2019
At the Quality Institute, we begin 2019 with a baseline for where we are on payment reform in New Jersey — and a greater understanding of the challenges ahead. As the lead New Jersey partner of Catalyst for Payment Reform’s (CPR) Scorecard 2.0, we worked with CPR as they assessed payment reform activity in New…Read More…
It’s Time to Revamp Prior Authorizations
Earlier this year, we invited primary care physicians, including pediatricians, to join us for dinner and discussion. We wanted to know why New Jersey physicians have low participation rates in both Medicaid and Medicare. We expected to hear a great deal about low reimbursement rates. Instead, we heard about the daily frustrations of physicians. They…Read More…
At Last, A Coordinated Effort to Increase Coverage
Driving to visit relatives in the northern part of New Jersey recently, I passed a billboard on Route 280 that said: Get Covered NJ. I never saw a sign like that before. I smiled. The towering roadside message tells me that our new administration in Trenton is serious about increasing enrollment through the Affordable Care…Read More…
Safety Grade Entrenched in New Jersey Two Decades After Watershed IOM Report
You’ll likely see widespread press coverage today on how New Jersey hospitals performed in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. We did very well — with the highest percentage of A hospitals. But equally important, in my perspective, is that New Jersey had the highest rate of participation in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey among regions with more than…Read More…
Quality Reporting Moves Beyond Hospital Walls
Surgeries today are increasingly performed in hospital outpatient centers and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), yet there is practically no independent, consumer-friendly data about the safety and quality of care in these settings. The lack of accessible data comes as many purchasers guide patients to lower-priced settings, and often design benefits to steer appropriate patients to…Read More…
Exclusive Look at Rising Health Care Spending in New Jersey
Not long ago, I was reading Niall Brennan’s testimony to a U.S. Senate committee. You may recall that Niall was our keynote speaker at last year’s Winter Conference, and we called him a “truth teller” for his powerful insight and data on rising health care costs. Niall, President and CEO of the Health Care Cost…Read More…
Scoring Payment Reform in the Garden State
Two numbers struck me after reading Catalyst for Payment Reform’s New Jersey Scorecard: 80 and 20. In our state’s commercial market, the share of total dollars paid to specialists (outpatient and inpatient) is 80 percent compared with just 20 percent to primary care providers. The national figures are only slightly better: 75 and 25 percent….Read More…
New Staffers Strengthen Quality Institute’s Mission
At the Quality Institute, three new policy staff members with impressive real-world experience have joined our mission to drive health care quality, access, and affordability. Their backgrounds in government, administration, hospitals, and finance will strengthen our impact in New Jersey. I’m excited to introduce them to you. First, let me tell you about Amanda R. Burd,…Read More…