‘We’re Saying Time’s Up’: Covered California Getting Tough On Hospital Quality Standards
In the next three-year contract that Covered California strikes with insurance companies, there will be a quality-focused stipulation: any hospital that doesn't meet certain targets for safety and quality can be excluded from the health plans sold through the marketplace.
KQED:
A New Message For California Hospitals: Shape Up, Or Get Kicked Out Of Obamacare Networks
While most of the recent debate around health care has been around cost -- especially the predictions about skyrocketing Obamacare premiums -- there are 100 pages in the Affordable Care Act devoted solely to improving the quality of the health care Americans are paying so much for. Covered California, the state’s Obamacare marketplace, is taking that mandate under the law seriously, and is now making a bold move to improve quality in a concrete way, and ultimately, ensure that California consumers get more value for their premium dollars. (Dembosky, 3/26)