Publications

Better Care Plan

Publicly Reported Health Outcomes: A National Initiative To Improve Care

Peter A. Wadsworth Stephen M. Shortell John S. Toussaint (HealthAffairs Forefront – 7/19/22) Describes the rationale and design criteria for a public-private approach to improving the quality and value of health care in the United States. Publicly Reported Health Outcomes (PRHO), a long-term, aspirational initiative, focused on results and transparency, will require both public- and private-sector action.

Better Care Teams: A Key Element of Better Care Plans (Health Affairs 4/22/21)

Co-authored with John S. Toussaint, and Stephen M. Shortell.  Describes how “quality reporting and innovative payment models would support Better Care Teams as the foundation of Better Care Plans”.

The Better Care Plan Advantage (LinkedIn 12/11/2020)

A more in-depth explanation of the Better Care Plan, its relationship to Medicare Advantage, its impact on coast and quality of care, and key factors for success.

How the Biden Administration Can Make a Public Option Work (HBR 11/20/2020)

Co-authored with John S. Toussaint, George C. Halvorson, Laurence Kotlikoff, Richard M. Scheffler, Stephen M. Shortell, and Gail Wilensky.

“Better Care Plan”: A Public Option Choice (Health Affairs Blog 11/16/2020)

Co-authored with John S. Toussaint, George C. Halvorson, Laurence Kotlikoff, Richard M. Scheffler, Stephen M. Shortell, and Gail Wilensky.

Medicare-for-All

 Medicare-for-All Part III: Assessing the Alternatives (LinkedIn Rev. 6/18/2020)

Reviews the pros and cons of alternatives to Medicare-for-All and Medicare-Advantage-for-All, including proposals from the Urban Institute, the Center for American Progress, George C. Halvorson and others

Medicare-for-All Part II: A Risk Assessment (LinkedIn 8/30/2019)

Describes seven risk factors associated with Medicare-for-All.

Medicare-for-All Part I: Financial Analysis (LinkedIn 4/21/2019)

Compares the Blahous/Mercatus and the UMass/PERI economic studies of Medicare-for-All supplemented with the author’s analysis of CMS, MedPAC, AHA and AHIP data. 

Hospital Outcomes & Consumerism

Hospital Outcomes & Safety Ratings (LinkedIn 12/2/2018)

Finds a lack of correlation of among three hospital ratings systems with CMS hospital outcomes.  Describes the author’s Hospital Outcomes Scores (HOS) built on CMS mortality and morbidity database. 

Healthcare Consumerism & Outcomes: Opportunities for Improvement (LinkedIn 7/1//2018)

Explores two significant, inter-related trends: (1) increasing consumer use of the internet to choose providers; and (2) growing availability of hospital and surgical outcomes to consumers.

Hospital Outcomes – The Neglected Consumer Metric (LinkedIn 4/27/2018)

Reviews commonly used hospital rating systems and other sources including several health insurers and the need for more consumer-oriented solutions.  (Article “liked” by the CEO of The Leapfrog Group)

Finding the Best Healthcare

Finding the Best Healthcare You Can Afford (Amazon 2017 157 pp)

A a consumer guide to help Massachusetts residents: (a) offers selection criteria to help choose the best doctors, hospitals and health plans; and (b) evaluates over 40 relevant internet services.