Research Brief | No. 20 | November 2017

Health System Oversight by States: An Environmental Scan

It’s hard to imagine robust progress on healthcare value issues without an overarching entity whose role is to look at the big picture. And yet, to date, only a few states have a centralized oversight agency that focuses on reducing healthcare costs, improving quality, bringing spending in line with overall economic growth and implementing new innovations for better value.

This report is a comparison of broad healthcare oversight authorities in seven states. We found significant variation in the responsibilities and powers these entities hold. Common roles include recommending strategies to combat rising healthcare costs and monitoring aspects of healthcare quality. Less common roles include regulating health insurance rates, piloting new innovations and implementing global budgets.

By comparing these roles, we hope to help states more effectively leverage this approach to reduce healthcare spending and improve quality.

The full report is available here.