Improving Quality and Value in the U.S. Health Care System
By: Niall Brennan, Nicole Cafarella, S. Lawrence Kocot, Aaron McKethan, Marisa Morrison, Nadia Nguyen, Mark Shepard and Reginald D. Williams II
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Executive Summary

The U.S. health care system faces significant challenges that clearly indicate the urgent need for reform. Attention has rightly focused on the approximately 46 million Americans who are uninsured, and on the many insured Americans who face rapid increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs. As Congress and the Obama administration consider ways to invest new funds to reduce the number of Americans without insurance coverage, we must simultaneously address shortfalls in the quality and efficiency of care that lead to higher costs and to poor health outcomes. To do otherwise casts doubt on the feasibility and sustainability of coverage expansions and also ensures that our current health care system will continue to have large gaps — even for those with access to insurance coverage.
There is broad evidence that Americans often do not get the care they need even though the United States spends more money per person on health care than any other nation in the world. Preventive care is underutilized, resulting in higher spending on complex, advanced diseases. Patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes all too often do not receive proven and effective treatments such as drug therapies or selfmanagement services to help them more effectively manage their conditions. This is true for insured, uninsured, and under-insured Americans. These problems are exacerbated by a lack of coordination of care for patients with chronic diseases. The underlying