Patients in New York state now have access to an interactive report card tool that evaluates the states' hospitals and managed care plans in terms of quality of care and pricing.
The New York State Health Accountability Foundation's New York Regional Health Care Report Card provides data on the cost and quality of care received by members of the states' commercial managed care plans. The report card also outlines the quality of care, mortality rates, length of stay and pricing of care provided to hospital patients in New York. New Jersey hospitals and plans will soon be added as well.
"We hope that this expanded report card helps satisfy the regional business community's increasing need for information on health care performance and cost," said Laurel Pickering, executive director of the New York Business Group on Health. "We also hope that our publication of this data will help stimulate the region's hospitals and health plans to do better."
The report card comprises 27 measures of quality care for New York health plans and 22 measures for New Jersey's health plans. Each commercial health plan's individual and family premium for a standardized HMO plan is published. A "Provider Network" section reports satisfaction with claims processing for New Jersey plans.
Performance on nine New York hospital procedures can be accessed using the report card. Medicaid reimbursement rates and average "self-pay" charges for conditions and procedures are also given.
The report card will also provide information from Leapfrog Group surveys covering computerized prescription order entry, ICU staffing and use of safe practices.
"The ability of individuals to be able to make informed decisions about the healthcare services that they seek is a serious concern," said Michelle Scheiner, director of health and welfare benefits for CBS Corp. and member of the Foundation's Employer Advisory Council.
The report card not only allows for examining the quality and costs of healthcare and plans in New Jersey and New York, but can also compare how the states stack up nationally in these areas.
"Our report card found that New York and New Jersey do well when compared with national averages," says Clare B. Bradley, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer of IPRO, a group that evaluates healthcare quality. "But there is a significant amount of variation both within and between counties."
The report card is available online and is searchable by county.