Monitoring the Health Care Safety Net Book 3: Tools for Monitoring the Health Care Safety Net

摘要

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report describing the health care safety net in the United States as 'intact but endangered.' In particular, the report emphasized the precarious financial situation of many institutions that provide care to Medicaid, uninsured, and other vulnerable patients; the changing financial, economic, and social environment in which these institutions operate; and the highly localized 'patchwork' structure of the safety net. One of the five key recommendations in the report concerns the need for data systems and measures. In response to this recommendation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) are leading a joint safety net monitoring initiative. This document offers strategies and concrete tools for assessing local health care safety nets. With topics ranging from estimating the size of local uninsured populations to using administrative data and presenting information to policymakers, the chapters in this book can assist State and local officials, planners, and analysts in assessing the capacity and viability of their existing safety net providers as well as in understanding the characteristics and health outcomes for the populations served.