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Media Contact: Diane Stollenwerk, Dir. of Communication & Development (206.448.2570 x117)

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Public-Private Coalition Working to Ensure Reform Improves Health Care Affordability and Quality

Puget Sound Health Alliance Part of 165-Member National Coalition Pushing for Federal Health Reform that Addresses More than Access to Insurance

SEATTLE, March 24, 2009— Most health care reform proposals focus on how to get more people covered by insurance. However, a large coalition of national and regional groups of doctors and hospitals, employers, patient groups and others – including the Puget Sound Health Alliance – recognizes that simply having health insurance does not assure that patients can access affordable care that is safe, efficient and responsive to their needs.

The Puget Sound Health Alliance is part of a new nation-wide public-private coalition, Stand for Quality, which joined together with a shared belief that improvements in access, quality, and affordability are inextricably linked.  Stand for Quality today announced a specific framework for federal health care reform to improve the quality and affordability of health care for all patients.  The framework includes six key recommendations:

1. Set national priorities and provide coordination for quality improvement;
2. Endorse and maintain nationally standardized measures;
3. Develop measures to fill gaps in priority areas;
4. Involve doctors and other stakeholders in developing policies on use of measures;
5. Collect, analyze, and make performance information available and actionable;
6. Support a sustainable infrastructure for quality improvement.

For more about the specific recommended framework for federal health care reform and the 165 private and public members of Stand for Quality, go to www.standforquality.org.

The Puget Sound Health Alliance is a non-profit made up of those who provide, pay for and use health care, working together to improve quality of care at a price more people can afford. About 50 individuals and more than 150 organizations have joined the Alliance, including Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Starbucks, Puget Sound Energy, REI, WA State Health Care Authority, King County and many other employers, physician clinics, hospitals, consumer groups, unions and trusts, health plans and others. See www.pugetsoundhealthalliance.org. For an Alliance-produced report comparing local health care, go to www.WACommunityCheckup.org

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