IPRO is a nonprofit health care assessment and quality improvement organization that uses clinical expertise, technology and data to help hospitals, health systems and provider groups use resources more efficiently, enhance health care quality and improve patient outcomes.
The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) represents patients, providers, community organizations, businesses, labor groups and health policy experts seeking to raise awareness of the leading cause of death, disability, and rising health care costs: chronic disease. Among the issues that PFCD addresses are the factors that cause health care and insurance costs to rise.
The Tennessee Justice Center promotes access to affordable health care for all Tennesseans and works on children’s health, COVID-19, health justice, health equity and nutrition. In April 2021, the center joined other groups in filing a lawsuit challenging the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ approval of the TennCare III project. It limited the amount of federal funding available for Medicaid services and allowed state officials to restrict coverage of prescription drugs.
The Century Foundation is an independent think tank focusing on progressive policies and research on economic and racial and gender equity in education, health care, work and other areas.
The Geneva Association is an international think tank on insurance that seeks to identify early ideas and emerging debates on political, economic and societal issues concerning health and other types of insurance.
The Maternal Health Hub compiles resources and promotes best practices for advancing equitable and high-value maternity care. The Health Care Transformation Task Force operates this nonprofit organization with funding from The Commonwealth Fund.
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank dedicated to individual liberty, limited government and free markets. For journalists, the institute publishes reports on health care workforce reform, the COVID-19 pandemic and health reform, among other health topics. Cato says it does not do lobbying, back political candidates, engage in political activities, associate with any political organization or party or accept government funding.
Economic Policy Institute. EPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that promotes the interests of workers in economic policy debates and tracks health insurance enrollment data.
The Open Markets Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization that promotes open, competitive markets and outlines the dangers of monopolization for policymakers, academics and the public. Among its areas of focus is health and the public interest. OMI says it does not take funding from corporations, relying instead on foundations and individual donors.
The National Center for Healthy Housing. NCHH seeks to secure healthy homes for all by integrating advocacy and research to reduce health disparities.
Guroo.com. Using data on care for 40 million insured individuals from the Health Care Cost Institute, an independent, nonprofit research organization, Guroo.com aims to give consumers information on health care costs and quality. It says it has national, state and local prices.
The Bowman Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to improve the lives of people with mental illness. It also provides funding to support the education and welfare of children and is the managing member of its subsidiary, The Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute LLC, which funds research into mental health treatment.
The Center to Advance Palliative Care provides tools, training, technical assistance, and connection for all clinicians caring for people with a serious illness. It is part of the nonprofit Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
National Health Law Program. This nonprofit program has attorneys who litigate cases in state and federal courts and who are policy advocates who seek to improve access to quality health care for low-income and underserved individuals.
Physicians for Patient Protection is a nonprofit, physician-led group of practicing and retired physicians, residents, medical students, and assistant physicians who promote physician-led care for all patients and to advocate for truth and transparency regarding health care providers. Sources of funding for this group is not obvious on its website.
Alliance for Transparent and Affordable Prescriptions (ATAP). The alliance says it is funded entirely by membership dues and does not take funding from outside sources. It represents more than 20 patient and provider groups, most of which are physician organizations. The members of the alliance are concerned about the role pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in the rising cost of drugs. In the news section on its site, ATAP tracks states that have passed laws regulating PBMs.
The Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker. The Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation monitor and report on how well the U.S. healthcare system performs in terms of quality and cost.
IPRO is a national, nonprofit health care quality improvement organization that provides quality improvement oversight services to managed care plans delivering care to Medicaid members and works with government agencies, health care providers and consumers to implement health policies to make the health care system more efficient, equitable and cost-effective.
Community Catalyst is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization to promote affordable, quality health care for everyone.
The National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) represents more than 80 organizations seeking health system reform. Its members include medical societies, businesses, unions, health care providers, faith-based associations, pension and health funds, insurers and groups representing consumers and patients.
The National Association of Community Health Centers is the national advocacy organization supporting community-based health centers and advocates for the expansion of health care access for the medically underserved and uninsured. It conducts research and analysis about the work of health centers, their value to the American health care system and the overall health, in terms of costs and health care outcomes, of Americans and their communities.
The Network for Excellence in Health Innovation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy institute focused on enabling innovations that provide solutions to the most pressing issues in health care.
The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation is an independent nonprofit organization that seeks to transform health care research and evidence into policies and programs to advance health care delivery, the health of the population, and access to care.
The ECRI applies scientific research to identify which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best. The goal behind ECRI’s work is to improve patient care through “The Discipline of Science” and “The Integrity of Independence,” the institute stays. Among the reports it issues every year are two health journalists should note: One covers the top 10 health technology hazards and the other addresses the top 10 patient safety concerns.
Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) is a nonprofit organization that provides professional case management services to patients with chronic, life threatening, and debilitating illnesses to help them access care and health insurance when needed. PAF case managers serve as liaisons between patients and their insurers, employers or creditors to resolve insurance, job retention or debt crisis matters stemming from a diagnosis. The PAF seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment, and preservation of their financial stability. For journalists, PAF and the National Patient Advocate Foundation could be sources of patient sources. As the advocacy affiliate of the PAF, the NFAF translates the experiences of patients who have been denied access to affordable, quality health care into national and state policy initiatives.
Physicians for a National Health Program is the only association of physicians dedicated exclusively to implementing a sing-payer national health insurance program. As a single-issue organization with more 20,000 members and chapters nationwide, it advocates for a universal, comprehensive single-payer national insurance. The group educates physicians and other health care professionals about the benefits of single-payer, citing lower administrative costs and providing health insurance for all Americans regardless of income. For journalists, the PNHP has a variety of commentaries on its web site and will identify physicians who are ready to speak about single-payer health insurance and the failures of the current health insurance system.
The Health Initiative Coordinating Council (HICCup), a nonprofit organization that started the Way to Wellville Challenge in 2014. The challenge is five-year effort to improve health in five small cities in the United States. In an article by Wendell Potter at the Center for Public Integrity, HICCup Founder Esther Dyson said she started HICCup to address many of the inefficiencies in the health care and health insurance systems. “It’s crazy that people lose their health and then have to pay so much in agony and pain and disrupted lives, not to mention money, to recover it—if they ever do,” she told Potter. HICCup solicited applications from 42 cities in 26 states and chose to focus on Clatsop County, Ore.; Muskegon, Mich.; Lake County, Calif.; Niagara Falls, N.Y; and Spartanburg, S.C.
Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR) is an independent, nonprofit corporation working for large employers and other health care purchasers to foster improvements in payment for health services and to promote higher-value health care. CPR seeks to promote and reward high‐quality, patient‐centered care that is cost‐effective and reduces disparities; to ensure patients receive the “right care, at the right time, from the right provider,” incorporating the values and preferences of patients; to foster improvement and innovation; and, to slow the growth of the cost of health care.
Families USA, a nonprofit organization, says it is a national voice for health care consumers and that it is dedicated to achieving high-quality, affordable health care and improved health for all. Founded in 1981, Families USA has more than 50 staff members who do public policy analysis, advocacy work and collaborate with other organizations to promote a patient-centered health system. The organization also produces policy reports, fact sheets, issue briefs, and does health policy research. For journalists, one of its strengths is collecting and sharing consumers’ stories about their experience with the health system.
The National Academy of Social Insurance is a nonprofit organization that focuses on social insurance programs such as health policy, long-term care, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation and disability insurance.
The National Health Council is made up of more than 100 national health-related organizations and businesses, the NHC’s core membership includes the nation’s leading patient advocacy organizations, which control its governance. Other members include professional and membership associations, nonprofit organizations with an interest in health, and major pharmaceutical, medical device, health insurance, and biotechnology companies.
The Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) is a national membership organization of more than 30 regional health improvement collaboratives. RHICs are multistakeholder organizations working to improve health, health care and reduce the cost of care. One of NRHI’s initiatives is to produce a series of issue briefs on payment reform. The NRHI Payment Reform Series will address issues affecting multipayer, multistakeholder efforts to improve how health insurers, employers, and other organizations pay for care. The first report is Moving from Quality to Value: Measuring and Controlling the Cost of Health Care (PDF).
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) is an independent, nonprofit organization of state health policymakers dedicated to achieving excellence in health policy and practice in the states. NASHP convenes state leaders to solve problems and share solutions, conduct policy analyses and research, disseminate information on state policies and programs, and provide technical assistance to states. The academy works on a wide range of issues including behavioral health, care coordination, children’s health, delivery system reform, insurance eligibility and enrollment, health IT, insurance exchanges, long term and chronic care, Medicaid, oral health, payment reform, population and public health, primary care and medical homes, quality and performance measurement.
The Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization in Washington, D.C., that provides education and policy proposals designed to improve the health care system. Funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, the center is part of West Health, four organizations that seek to make high-quality health care more accessible at a lower cost to all Americans. West Health also includes the Gary and Mary West Health Institute, a nonprofit medical research organization seeking more effective ways to deliver care; the for-profit Gary and Mary West Health Investment Fund, and West Health Incubator, which invests in and provides expertise to businesses doing work similar to that the policy center. In 2014, the center funded an analysis by researchers from the Center for Studying Health System Change and RAND on price transparency. The resulting report, Healthcare Price Transparency: Policy Approaches and Estimated Impacts on Spending (pdf), showed how three policy changes could save $100 billion over ten years.
The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform in Pittsburgh seeks to identify and encourage opportunities for improving health care quality and decreasing costs. Many of the clinical approaches to improving care and lowering costs are known, but payment systems and organizational structures impede their implementation, the center says. Therefore, the center works to identify such barriers to improvement and develop proposals to remove them. It also seeks to identify efforts that would improve value in health care delivery. The center’s detailed reports serve as thorough guides on a variety of health care payment and delivery improvement topics such as Measuring and Assigning Accountability for Healthcare Spending (pdf), Making the Business Case for Payment and Delivery Reform (pdf), and Ten Barriers to Healthcare Payment Reform and How to Overcome Them (pdf).
The APCD Council is a collaborative of government, private, nonprofit, and academic organizations focused on improving the development and deployment of state-based all payer claims databases (APCDs). The council provides technical assistance to states developing these databases and is coordinated by the Institute for Health Policy and Practice (IHPP) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO). It has an interactive map of the United States showing where states have developed these databases and the APCD Showcase APCD Showcase, a collection of examples from state databases.
NASHCO (National Alliance of State Health Co-Ops) is a trade association for the nonprofit health insurance co-ops formed after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. The ACA included provisions for co-ops, which are nonprofit consumer oriented and operated plans (co-ops) that offer health insurance and operate to stimulate competition among health insurers. These member-operated health plans were established in 24 states although one has since disbanded.
The Center for Advancing Health (CFAH) seeks to increase consumer’s engagement in their health care. By listening to patient perspectives, the center’s staff develops resources to help all consumers participate fully in their health and health care. The center also publishes the Health Behavior News Service, which covers peer-reviewed studies on health disparities, patient engagement research, and the effects of behavior on health. Founded in 1992, this nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., gets support from individuals and foundations.
Fellows at the University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute analyze the medical, economic, and social issues that influence how health care is organized, financed, managed, and delivered in the United States.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1990 that is dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA develops quality standards and performance measures for many health care entities, including health plans and physician groups, that allow these entities to measure quality, analyze results, and improve patient outcomes. Among its undertakings are the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), a tool most health plans use to evaluate their performance against 75 measures. Employers use HEDIS scores to evaluate plans and compare one against others. NCQA also produces the annual State of Health Care Quality.
The Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute (HCI3) seeks to improve health care quality and value by introducing evidence-based financial incentive programs and by redesigned payments to provides to make them more equitable and effective. HCI3 is a nonprofit organization whose board of directors includes physicians, employers, and health plan executives. The organization says it has created a range of programs to:
- Measure health outcomes
- Reduce preventable defects in care delivery
- Promote a team-based approach to caring for patients
- Realign provider payment incentives around quality
- Reward excellence in care delivery