Commissioner of Health Dr. Ed Ehlinger is seeking members to
serve on a new provider peer grouping advisory committee. As required by legislation passed this year,
the commissioner will include among his appointees representatives of health
care providers, health plan companies, consumers, state agencies, employers,
academic researchers, and organizations that work to improve health care
quality in Minnesota.
In 2008, the Minnesota Legislature passed a groundbreaking
law charging the Commissioner of Health with developing a system – provider
peer grouping - that would provide consumers, payers and providers with greater
transparency about value in health care.
Over the past three years, MDH staff, contractors and community advisors
have made important gains in developing key aspects of the state’s provider
peer grouping (PPG) system. The 2011-2012 Legislature recognized and affirmed
the importance of moving forward with the development and implementation of PPG
by enacting changes in the PPG statute that would ensure robust community
engagement in this work and set timelines that allow for adequate provider
review of confidential results. Commissioner Dr. Ehlinger is strongly committed
to realizing the state’s vision to move towards reporting of measures of value,
with an emphasis on scientific rigor, actionable results and transparency of
approach.
In the next step forward, the Commissioner of Health is appointing
an advisory committee to consult on further refinements to the PPG system. As required by legislation, the Commissioner
will include among his appointees representatives of health care providers,
health plan companies, consumers, state agencies, employers, academic
researchers, and organizations that work to improve health care quality in
Minnesota.
The tasks on which the Commissioner will consult with the
advisory committee include: defining peer groups; reviewing quality and cost
scoring methodologies; adopting patient attribution methods; selecting risk
adjustment models; choosing service dates for cost and quality reporting;
recommending inclusion or exclusion of other costs; and considering whether
adjustments are necessary for facilities that provide medical education, Level
1 trauma services, neonatal intensive care, or inpatient psychiatric care. Given the analytic complexities of this work,
the Commissioner is seeking individuals with strong methodological expertise in
quality and cost measurement, as well as a thorough understanding of the policy
rationale for cost/quality measurement generally and PPG specifically.
Nominations for appointments to the advisory committee
should be forwarded by July 11, 2012
via e-mail to Stefan Gildemeister, Director of the MDH Health Economics Program,
at stefan.gildemeister@state.mn.us. Initial
appointments are made for two calendar years. The PPG advisory committee will
meet at minimum three times per year, with three meetings planned between
August and November of 2012.
