Benchmarking and tracking regional performance on key quality and cost measures is critical to reducing unwarranted variation and achieving high-quality, affordable, patient-centered care for all Californians.

An online tool, the California Regional Health Care Cost & Quality Atlas, tracks performance on six clinical quality measures for the priority health conditions of cancer, diabetes, and asthma; hospital utilization; and average annual total cost of care per enrollee across 19 California geographic regions.

A collaboration of the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), and the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS), the atlas includes information about care provided in 2013 to 24 million Californians, nearly two-thirds of the state’s total population, and spans health coverage provided by commercial insurance products (HMOs and PPOs), Medicare Advantage, traditional Medicare fee-for-service (FFS), Medi-Cal managed care, and Medi-Cal FFS.

Along with giving purchasers, providers, payers, policymakers, and the public a clearer picture of overall health and costs across the state, the atlas identifies “hot spots” for performance improvement and establishes a benchmark to track changes over time.

Hear a conversation about this powerful tool, along with a discussion of key findings. A panel of experts shared a range of perspectives about the initial data:

• Beth Capell, policy advocate, Health Access
• Don Crane, president and CEO, CAPG
• Diana Dooley, secretary, CHHS (via video)
• Sara Flocks, public policy coordinator, California Federation of Labor
• Katie Heidorn, deputy secretary, CHHS
• Sandra Hernández, president and CEO, CHCF
• Kristen Miranda, senior vice president, Blue Shield of California
• Jeff Rideout, president and CEO, IHA (moderator)
• Dolores Yanagihara, vice president, IHA

A recording of the event and the presentation slides are available below.