The University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor and two of Michigan's primary health insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network, have launched a new initiative to help hospitals compare their utilization, payment and costs on claims data with that of their peers throughout the state.
The project is called the Michigan Value Collaborative. Participating hospitals will receive comparative costs of their hospital admissions to peers as well as the statewide average. Hospitals will also be able to see data on care delivered before and after hospitalization. The claims data come from BCBS of Michigan and will soon include Medicare claims, according to a news release.
The MVC will initially focus on providing hospitals with data on the most common and costly procedures and conditions, such as heart attacks, congestive heart failure, cardiac surgery, hip replacements and colon surgery. More data for other clinical conditions will be made available over the coming months.
Officials said they hope the transparency offered through the MVC will spur hospitals to manage their costs better, while improving quality measures for patients as well.
"Providing hospitals with reliable feedback on their comparative costs is obviously important in the era of health reform," said John Birkmeyer, MD, a faculty member of the University of Michigan Center for Healthcare Outcomes and Policy and program leader of the MVC. "We also want to give them insights about how they can help their patients achieve the best possible outcomes at the lowest reasonable cost."
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