October 23, 2009 - A new Commonwealth Fund report analyzes the similarities, differences, potential impacts, and costs of current bills passed by the five committees of jurisdiction in the United States Congress: Finance Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committees in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Energy and Commerce committees.
October 8, 2009 - The cost and quality of health care, as well as access to care and health outcomes, continue to vary widely among states, according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System's second state scorecard report released today.
August 26, 2009 - Over the last 30 years, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which assesses the costs of health reform and other legislation as it moves through Congress and is widely respected for its competence and integrity, has underestimated the amount of savings and overestimated the costs that major changes in the health care system would bring, says Jon Gabel in an op-ed published in today's New York Times.
July 27, 2009 - By a wide margin, health care leaders believe that individuals should have a choice of public and private health plans, and strongly support other central components of health reform such as innovative provider payment reform and a national insurance health exchange with strong standard-setting authority.
June 24, 2009 - A comprehensive approach to health insurance, provider payment, and care delivery system reforms has the potential to slow health care cost increases while achieving near-universal coverage. The potential savings for families, businesses, and the federal government vary markedly, however, depending on whether or not a public insurance plan option is included and how such a plan is structured, according to a new analysis from The Commonwealth Fund.
June 11, 2009 - The Commonwealth Fund and Consumers Union will come together today for an event in Washington, D.C. to highlight the need for health reform that will provide security and stability for millions of people struggling to get the health care they need and describe how a patient-centered health care system would make a difference for them.
May 20, 2009 - Physicians can and should play a leading role in achieving health care reform by working towards comprehensive reform of the way health care is paid for and delivered, helping achieve a guaranteed 1.5 percent annual savings in health care costs that would pay for covering all Americans, according to a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective piece published online today.
May 14, 2009 - As policymakers consider ways to cut health costs as a part of health reform, a new national survey of physician practices finds that physicians on average are spending the equivalent of three work weeks annually on administrative tasks required by health plans. According to the study by Lawrence P. Casalino, M.D., Ph.D., of Weill Cornell Medical College and colleagues, physician practices report that overall the costs of interacting with insurance plans is $31 billion annually and 6.9 percent of all U.S. expenditures for physician and clinical services. The study, published in today’s online issue of Health Affairs, was co-funded by The Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) Initiative.
February 19, 2009 - A comprehensive set of insurance, payment, and system reforms could guarantee affordable health insurance coverage, improve health outcomes, and slow the growth of health spending by $3 trillion by the end of the next decade, according to a new report released today by the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System.
February 4, 2009 - When President Obama signed the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) bill into law today, he took a significant step toward the necessary reforms that will guarantee all Americans the health care they need and deserve. As the President stated, CHIP represents an important down payment on health care reform, and one that will provide enhanced health security for millions of families.
October 2, 2008 - A new report from The Commonwealth Fund examines key differences and areas of agreement in the health system reform proposals of presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.
September 10, 2008 - Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania reduced hospital admissions by 20 percent and saved 7 percent in total medical costs by providing a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care--including around-the-clock access to primary and specialty care, and physician and patient access to electronic health records (EHRs)--according to first-year results from pilot-test sites.
August 7, 2008 - Americans are dissatisfied with the U.S. health care system and 82 percent think it should be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt, according to a new survey released today by The Commonwealth Fund.
July 17, 2008 - A new national scorecard from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System finds that the U.S. health care system has failed to improve overall and that scores on access have declined significantly since the first national scorecard in 2006.
May 28, 2008 - States vary widely in the quality of health care children receive, as well as children's access to care, family insurance premiums, equity, and the potential to lead long healthy, productive lives, according to a new scorecard issued by The Commonwealth Fund.