A critical element of a purchaser's value-based purchasing strategy, eValue8 was used by employers and coalitions to gather health care data from 64 health plans across the nation, representing more than 100 million Americans. A publicly available report on the 2010 results is available on NBCH's website.

"To truly reform the U.S. health care system requires a triple aim approach: improve health, improve health care and lower costs," said Andrew Webber, president and CEO, NBCH. "To accomplish this it's critical to have a strong interaction between the health care purchasers and their health plans. The collaboration and discussion that takes place as part of eValue8 plays a vital role in efforts to improve quality and cost."

Study Finds Positive Return on Investment for States that Invest in Quit Smoking Treatments

The American Lung Association recently released the compelling results of economic research on cessation. On a national level and here in South Carolina, the ALA found that cessation leads to significant savings for employers and a better quality of life for workers.

A survey conducted by the ALA in Georgia and South Carolina found that nearly a third (29 percent) of large employers offer smoking cessation health benefits to their employees.  Nearly half of the businesses with more than 2,000 employees offer this benefit.

This survey follows on the heels of a national report from the ALA, "Smoking Cessation: The Economic Benefits" which found that helping smokers quit not only saves lives but also offers favorable economic benefits to states. For every dollar spent by the State of South Carolina to help state workers, quit line callers and Medicaid recipients quit smoking, the potential return equaled $1.38.

Quitting smoking is the single most important step a smoker can take to reduce their risk for lung cancer. Quitting can be tough but smokers don't have to quit alone. The ALA smoking cessation programs have helped smokers quit for nearly 30 years. Freedom From Smoking  and Not-On-Tobacco are two programs available to help adult and teen smokers quit for good. The Quitter in You program is designed to help people who have tried to quit before see each attempt as a step to success, not a failure.

(Sources: American Lung Association and Pfizer)

2010 Global Competitiveness of Care Index

In a recent report prepared for the Business Roundtable, Mercer found that the U.S. Health System is still lagging behind other industrialized nations.  "Comparisons of the performance of the U.S. health system with competitor countries continue to show that it consumes a much larger share of national income to achieve an overall level of health and quality of care that is no better, and on some measures is worse, than other economically advanced nations."

On a more encouraging note, the study shows that the one metric the U.S has improved in comparison to neighbors around the World is hospital mortality.  Arnold Milstein, MD, one of the authors, credits this accomplishment to The Leapfrog Group's Patient Safety Measures.

Click here for details of the Report.