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The Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy was established in 1999. Our purpose is to provide a focus and resources for Kaiser Permanente to better participate in shaping the nation’s health policy agenda. We bring experts together to research and analyze health policy, with a goal of increasing understanding of policy issues and helping provide solutions. Working in collaboration with foundations, policy institutes, research programs, policymakers, and other organizations, the Institute seeks to develop unbiased information about health policy issues and alternatives.
 

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What’s New

June 2009
Addressing Health Care Market Reform Through an Insurance Exchange: Essential Policy Components, the Public Plan Option, and Other Issues to Consider
Murray Ross and Paul Fronstin, EBRI Issue Brief

April 2009

Change The Microenvironment
Francis J. Crosson, The Commonwealth Fund, Commentary

January 2009
Patient-Centered Care and the Health Care Reform Agenda - A Roundtable Discussion
Paul Wallace, Cindy Ehnes, David Lansky, Ruth Liu, Thomas Lorentzen, Tom Rundall, Josh Seidman, Wells Shoemaker, Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy, Oakland, CA.

May 2009
Francis J. (Jay) Crosson, MD Named Vice-Chair of MedPac

March 27, 2009
Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy was proud to be a sponsor of the Alliance for Health Reform Briefing: "Reforming the Health Care Delivery System: A Team Approach"

Health Care Reform Now
Presentation by George Halvorson
Video
Slides


Collaborative Cardiac Care Service: Teams + Technology = Quality
Presentation by Susan Kuca and Jon Rasmussen
Video - Kuca
Video - Rasmussen
Slides

News

 

Brief commentaries on select health policy actions, publications, and conferences/meetings.

June 17, 2009

Meaningful Use of Health IT

The incentive, grant, and loan programs of the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Recovery (HITECH) Act —approximately $35 billion total outlays and over $19 billion net spending on health IT —will certainly spur higher levels of health IT adoption.  A major challenge, however, is to have spending be put to good use so the country gets the most effective health IT supported with taxpayer dollars. On June 16, the HIT Policy Committee, a federal advisory committee advising the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, released a proposed framework and definition of meaningful use of electronic health records for public comment. (more)

Past Issues

Issue Areas

Health Care Quality and Efficiency

Integrated Delivery Systems
Purchaser Strategies
Medical Error Reporting
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
Medicaid
Medicare/Elder Care

Health Insurance Markets

Benefit Design & Consumerism
Competition
Risk Selection

Innovations in Medicine

Evidence-Based Medicine/New Medical Technology

Health Promotion

Healthy Eating & Active Living

Health Care Infrastructure

Health Information Technology