This report from the Commonwealth Fund explores opportunities that have come about due to health care reform for states to increase quality and efficiency in the country's health care systems. In addition to providing steps that states can follow to improve these indicators, the report also documents examples of states that have already incorporated effective reforms.

From the exexcutive summary:

There is significant opportunity and need to improve health system performance in the United States. Within our own borders there is wide variation in performance across states on indicators of access, quality, and costs, illustrating that although there is much we need to learn, better performance is clearly achievable with targeted policies and actions. Although politicians and the press emphasize the insurance coverage expansions and market reforms in the sweeping health reform bill passed last spring, it is less well known that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 in fact contains numerous provisions to promote reforms in the health care delivery system itself. Depending on how it is implemented, the law offers a unique opportunity to drive real change in the health care delivery system, so that people across the U.S. receive far better and more affordable care.

States are key players in the implementation of national health care reform. State leaders have an imperative to improve health care system quality and efficiency if they are to effectively and sustainably implement the changes driven by the Affordable Care Act as well as the earlier American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Full Report: State Strategies to Improve Quality and Efficiency: Making the Most of Opportunities in National Health Reform (PDF | 609 KB)

The Commonwealth Fund. (2010). State strategies to improve quality and efficiency: making the most of opportunities in national health reform. Rosenthal, J., Gauthier, A., and Arons, A.