Detroit Free Press: Study: Premature births higher among blacks
Report on CHRT’s November 2010 issue brief “Prematurity.” Must pay fee to view full story.
Read more >CHRT report shows pre-term births are leading cause of health problems in infants and significant contributor to health care spending
The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) based at the University of Michigan today released its Prematurity Issue Brief that shows pre-term births—births at less than 37 weeks of gestation—are the leading cause of health problems in infants and estimated to cost the U.S. more than $26 billion annually. In addition, the report shows that a black infant in …
Read more >What’s happening in the UK? And, what’s it got to do with us?
In the midst of all the focus on election day in the U.S., there was a much overlooked article the same day on changes in the British health care system. The article is about what is called in Great Britain “NICE.” NICE is an acronym that stands for National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. NICE was established in 1999 …
Read more >Lansing State Journal: Medicaid squeeze: Shrinking federal reimbursements cause doctors to limit care to needy
CHRT director Marianne Udow-Phillips comments on the declining number of health providers accepting Medicaid patients as reimbursement rates fall, citing findings from CHRT’s March 2010 Cover Michigan Survey.
Read more >What Now? Health Care Reform after the Midterms
During the campaign, there was a great deal of talk about “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act if the Republicans won in Congress. Well, the Republicans won the House and made significant gains in the Senate. So, what now? Is a repeal of health care reform a likely outcome in the near future? There is very little that is …
Read more >The Safety Net and Health Care Reform
On October 29, CHRT sponsored a symposium to look at issues surrounding the safety net and the future of health care after the Affordable Care Act takes effect. While there are some who believe that getting to (or close to) universal coverage would mean the end of the safety net, our panelists came to the opposite conclusion. That is, we …
Read more >Choices Ahead
The run up to the midterm elections says a lot about American ambivalence about reforming the health care system. The rhetoric about health reform – and the public’s reaction to that rhetoric – underlines why it has been so difficult to reform the health care system for the past 100 years– and, why it still might fail. In general, whenever …
Read more >Can ACOs Create a High Performing Healthcare System in America?
The idea of the “Accountable Care Organization” (ACO) appears to have taken hold well in advance of a clear understanding of what these organizations might be or how they will fit into the overall health care system. At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, we’ve been using the term “Organized Systems of Care” (OSC) since 2005, when we began transforming …
Read more >The Hidden Story Behind the Development of Evidence Based Guidelines or, Why It is So Hard to Reduce Health Care Spending Trends
Almost a year ago now, new guidelines on mammography screening were released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The new guidelines updated 2002 recommendations, and based on recent research recommended against routine screening of women ages 40-49. Instead of routine screening, the USPSTF concluded that the decision about screening women 40-49 should be left up to individual women and …
Read more >CHRT Report Shows Patterns of Health Practice Vary Across Michigan
A report released today by the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) on the use of health care services in Michigan shows a high degree of variation in the use of certain tests and procedures—including back surgery, Cesarean section, hysterectomy, and angioplasty—among different regions throughout the state. The “Thumb”/Saginaw area had among the highest use rates for all procedures …
Read more >