Posted on January 6, 2011 08:53
Categories: State and Local
Topics: Access/Barriers | Legislation (State & Local) | Quality | State Data | Uninsured
This report from the Brookings Institution explore the District of Columbia's change in policy from providing healthcare services to paying for services from private insurers.
From the report:
In the late 1990s the city of Washington, D.C. faced a crisis in the health delivery system serving its large low-income population. Its public hospital and associated clinics were offering poor quality care at high cost per patient. Low-income residents had poor access to primary or specialty care and relied heavily on emergency departments. Health outcomes were abysmal.
Starting in 1999, the District initiated a series of health reforms to expand access to health care and improve residents’ health. The city closed the public hospital’s inpatient facility, transferred control of the hospital’s emergency department and affiliated clinics to a nonprofit health care provider, and created the DC HealthCare Alliance to pay for health services for uninsured low-income District residents who were not eligible for Medicaid. The District government shifted from directly providing health care to purchasing health care services from private providers.
Full Report: Expanding Health Coverage in the District of Columbia: D.C.'s Shift from Providing Services to Subsidizing Individuals and Its Continuing Challenges in Promoting Health, 1999-2009 (PDF | 620 KB)
Brookings Institution. (2010). Expanding health coverage in the District of Columbia: D.C.'s shift from providing services to subsidizing individuals and its continuing challenges in promoting heatlh, 1999-2009. Meyer, J., Bovbjer, R., Ormond, B., and Lagomarsino, G.
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