In a conversation with California Healthline, Harold Miller — president and CEO of the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement — discussed how the characteristics of health care systems vary widely across the country. He noted that different communities are dominated by various types of hospitals, health systems and health insurance plans.
Such regional variation means that communities need to develop health care improvement strategies that are tailored to local needs, Miller said.
He added that maternity services represent a key intervention area for communities seeking to improve care and reduce costs. According to Miller, maternity care has received limited attention from the federal government because Medicare does not cover such services (California Healthline, 5/23).
The complete transcript of this report is available as a PDF.