Examples from the States

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Americans are increasingly living with chronic conditions such as asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. By the year 2020, an estimated 157 million Americans will have at least one chronic condition and 81 million will have multiple chronic conditions. Because people with chronic conditions use more health care than others, consuming nearly 80 percent of all health care spending, they are particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes and high costs due to inappropriate care. Evidence suggests that American adults receive recommended care only about half the time, with under-utilization more common than over-utilization. For example, people with diabetes receive only about 45 percent of the care they need, which increases their risk of kidney failure, blindness, and amputation of limbs. Improving care for people with chronic conditions offers the potential to both improve health outcomes and constrain cost growth.

Many states are undertaking efforts to improve care for people with chronic conditions. According to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, more than 25 states are developing or have implemented Medicaid disease management or case management initiatives in their non-managed care programs. States report promising results from these programs in terms of both health outcome improvements and cost savings.

State efforts to make better use of information technology can also lead to substantial improvements. Health information technology facilitates identification of quality concerns, development of clinical best practices, and appropriate care management for individuals with chronic conditions and for all patients. Evidence suggests that the administrative and clinical efficiencies made possible by better health information technology will improve health care quality and could result in savings of up to $140 billion per year nationally.

This report highlights examples of health care innovations taking place in the states with the assistance of state and/or local agencies. These profiles provide a sample of the spectrum of activities under way in the states both to advance health care information technology and to improve care for individuals with chronic health conditions. Such efforts offer tremendous potential to promote high-quality, high-value health care.

Click here for the full report of "Innovative Approaches to Improving Health Care Value: Examples from the States"