"Every American should have access to a full range of information about the quality and cost of their health care options.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt

The Federal Government is calling on health care leaders throughout the country to play a leadership role in improving quality and increasing the value of our nation’s health care system. To this end, HHS Secretary Leavitt has identified and published The Four Cornerstones of Value-Driven Health Care and has invited large employers and health organizations to sign a Statement of Support. 

UnitedHealthcare^® is proud to be among the first wave of companies to sign the Statement of Support and to join the national quest toward better health care transparency. In doing so, we continue to provide information to members on physician and facility costs and performance – against quality criteria. Offering comparative data empowers consumers to make more informed decisions about their health care purchases, and in turn motivates health care providers to deliver the highest quality care at the lowest price – ultimately creating a better health care system for all.  

The Four Cornerstones of Value-Driven Health Care:

1. Connecting the System.  Today, the majority of medical providers are using electronic health records for storage and access. Standards are needed for all health information systems can securely exchange data while strictly protecting patient privacy. 
UnitedHealthcare is committed to supporting health information technology. We provide consumers and providers tools to promote better delivery of health care and to facilitate care management. Our current initiatives include implementation of chronic care registries, ePrescribing, real-time event notification and data exchange, payer/health system integration, evaluation of participation in Regional Health Information Organizations and promotion of physician adoption through a Health Information Technology measurement and rewards program.

2. Measuring and Publishing Quality.  Every case and every procedure has an outcome.  Some are better than others.  To measure quality, we work with physicians and hospitals to capture outcomes data and to define benchmarks for what constitutes quality care.
UnitedHealthcare provides quality information and services through our UnitedHealth Premium^® physician designation program. This program helps consumers select physicians based on performance and their compliance with national, evidence-based criteria for quality. Today, the program delivers information on quality and efficiency of care for 21 specialties in 100 markets. To promote identification and development of additional measurable quality standards, UnitedHealthcare is working collaboratively with specialty societies and other national quality initiatives such as the AQA Alliance and the Hospital Quality Alliance.

3. Measure and Publish Price.  Price information is ineffective unless cost is calculated for identical services. Agreement is needed on what procedures and services are covered in each “episode of care” in order to create meaningful cost comparison information.
UnitedHealthcare provides pricing information through our UnitedHealth Premium® hospital comparison program. It provides procedure and condition-specific price and quality information for 54 inpatient procedures in more than 160 markets. Physician-specific efficiency designations are currently available in 54 markets and pricing information will be available in late 2007.   

4. Create Positive Incentives.  All parties – providers, patients, insurance plans and payers – should participate in arrangements that reward both those who offer and those who purchase high-quality, competitively priced health care. 

UnitedHealthcare promotes health care quality and efficiency through the UnitedHealth Premium program. It recognizes physicians who meet quality and efficiency standards. The Practice Rewards program rewards physicians who meet quality, efficiency and administrative standards by providing them with an enhanced fee schedule. We provide physicians with detailed, actionable information aimed at improving care delivery. Summary and detailed information is delivered to consumers to support informed decision making. Our consumer-focused programs may include benefit plan incentives to encourage the use of quality and efficient care, as well as other incentives for compliance with condition- specific treatment protocols, such as our Rewards for Action program. Employers are provided with detailed reports outlining their plan’s quality and episode savings by physician specialty based on the actual experience of their employee population.