Podcast: Why Are U.S. Prescription Drug Prices So High?

 
For Reliable Information on Health Benefits

California HealthCare Foundation
www.chcf.org

California Healthline
www.californiahealthline.org

The Commonwealth Fund
www.commonwealthfund.org

Health Access California
www.health-access.org

Healthcare.gov
www.healthcare.gov

Kaiser Family Foundation
www.kff.org

Kaiser Health News
http://khn.org/

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
www.rwjf.org


The Communication Toolkit
Use the Communication Toolkit materials to educate your employees or members about finding good quality health care, making wise health care decisions, and being informed health care consumers.
 

Covered California Insurance Exchange

Resources
 
AB 2589 - What You Should Know
AB 2589—the California Broker Compensation Disclosure Reporting for Public Agencies— is legislation that requires health plans and insurers to annually disclose broker compensation information to the governing board of any public entity that they contract with, including school districts.  The law specifically requires that the health plan or insurer disclose the name of, and any amount paid to, any agent, broker or individual to whom the plan paid fees, commissions or bonuses related to the group contract.

Why should your district care?  Read more here.

Download the AB 2589 Request for Report Letter here.


The Hospital Safety Score
The Hospital Safety Score uses national performance measures from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey and Health Information Technology Supplement.


The Medical Board of California
The Medical Board of California is a state government agency which licenses and disciplines medical doctors. The Board provides two principal types of services to consumers: public-record information about California-licensed physicians, and investigation of complaints against physicians.






 
Consumer Reports
California Healthcare Compare
The California Insurance Commissioner, UCSF and Consumer Reports developed this comparison tool to help Californians make informed choices by comparing the cost & quality of the healthcare options available to them. 
Prescription Drugs & Medications
The Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs site can help you identify drugs with the highest efficacy for your condition.


Health Insurance Report Cards
NCQA’s Health Plan Report Cards rate private, Medicare, and Medicaid health insurance plans based on their combined HEDIS® , CAHPS® and NCQA Accreditation standards scores.




CA Health Care Quality Report Cards - 2014-15 Edition
The Report Cards provide information on the quality of different types of health care and on how patients rate their experience getting care.







OSHPD Chargemaster Data
A hospital charge description master, also known as a chargemaster or CDM, contains the prices of all services, goods, and procedures for which a separate charge exists. It is used to generate a patient's bill. As required by the Payers' Bill of Rights, each hospital is required to submit a copy of its chargemaster, a list of average charges for 25 common outpatient procedures, and the estimated percentage change in gross revenue due to price changes each July 1st.  Access the data here.
 

CDPH Open Data Portal
The CDPH data portal was created with funding from the California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF) to improve access to the state's health data and provide tools to visualize and download datasets.






Medicare Provider Charge Data
To make our health care system more affordable and accountable, data are being released that show significant variation across the country and within communities in what providers charge for common services. These data include information comparing the charges for the 100 most common inpatient services and 30 common outpatient services. Read more.


California Joint Replacement Registry
The California Joint Replacement Registry collects and incorporates clinical information and direct feedback from patients about the outcomes of their hip and knee replacement surgeries.