The passage of the Affordable Care Act moved us one step closer to securing high-quality, affordable health coverage for all Americans. However, the rising cost of health care and the current structure of our health care system put these hard fought gains at risk. The way that care is delivered and paid for needs to be transformed to improve quality, contain costs, and ensure everyone gets the right care at the right time.

Families USA is committed to working on the issue of health system reform in order to help secure and maintain access to quality health care for all Americans. As it stands, wide variations in health care quality lead to care that is inefficient and inequitable. By changing the way care is delivered and paid for, we hope that this dynamic will change and the growth in health care spending will slow. As we delve into this work, we will promote policies that do the following:

• Prioritize and protect the needs of low-income, vulnerable populations and the programs that help them get the care they need
• Reform the way providers are paid to promote quality of care over quantity of care
• Develop and engage all parts of the health care infrastructure, including technology and workforce, to improve how care is delivered and paid for
• Improve access to medically necessary, appropriate, safe, and effective health care
• Empower consumers to be more informed and engaged in their health care

Check out our resources about this important work.

Holding Health Homes Accountable for High-Quality Care: Payment and Quality Measures describes options for paying Health Home providers and measuring quality. It explains how advocates can identify and promote the best policies for consumers, and it includes examples from the following states: IA, MO, NY, NC, OH, OR, and RI. 30 pp. (February 2013)

Designing Consumer-Friendly Health Homes discusses six key decisions that states need to make when they set up Health Homes. It also explains the challenges that state advocates should address to ensure that Health Homes improve care for Medicaid beneficiaries. 22 pp. (January 2013)

Health Homes in Medicaid: Challenges and Opportunities for Advocates defines Health Homes and discusses their potential to improve care for vulnerable patients, the role that advocates can play, and challenges that states and advocates will face. It includes a chart that summarizes key details of Health Homes in IA, MO, NC, NY, OH, OR, and RI. 19 pp. (November 2012)

Working toward Wellness: A Checklist for Creating Consumer-Friendly Workplace Wellness Programs lays out the components for building a workplace wellness program that promotes health and well-being while protecting participants' health coverage and privacy. Our companion piece includes profiles of five wellness programs from across the country. 12 pp. (July 2012)

Wellness Programs: Evaluating the Promises and Pitfalls presents an overview of current programs, identifies how their role could soon change, explains how certain programs can limit access to coverage and care, and provides recommendations for policies that will help prevent these programs from limiting access. 23 pp. (June 2012)

Alcohol Taxes and Public Health explains the health benefits of higher alcohol taxes, which can also be an important source of funding at the local, state, and federal levels. 4 pp. (May 2012)

Making the Most of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs): What Advocates Need to Know provides an overview of ACOs; the promise they hold; and how they could change Medicare, Medicaid, and the health care landscape. It also identifies key challenges in their development and suggests how advocates can get involved in ways that benefit patients. 12 pp. (Updated February 2012)

A Closer Look at ACOs is a compilation of Families USA briefs done on Accountable Care Organizations. Includes the basics, payment and quality measurements, determining shared savings and losses, and beneficiary assignment and notification processes. 33 pp. (February 2012)

Putting the Accountability in Accountable Care Organizations: Payment and Quality Measurements examines some of the challenges that advocates will face when working with policy makers, insurers, and providers to develop mechanisms that ensure that beneficiaries receive high-quality care at a lower cost. 9 pp. | Determining Shared Savings or Losses 6 pp. (January 2012)

Designing Consumer-Friendly Beneficiary Assignment and Notification Processes for Accountable Care Organizations discusses the challenges advocates will face when developing these processes, and it recommends certain notification requirements and beneficiary protections. 8 pp. (January 2012)