Overviews of key health care and governance topics, written in an accessible manner for both new and veteran trustees.
2013 Trustee Executive Briefings
 Ensuring a Healthier Tomorrow | June 2013By Rich Umbdenstock The current growth rate for health care spending is a central area of focus for policymakers. Achieving a sustainable level of health care spending may require reducing both the cost of individual services and the use of total services. MORE» |
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 Health Insurance Exchanges | March 2013By Ceci Connolly and Jeff Gitlin Health insurance exchanges — both public and private — will create an irreversible shift in the insurance market that ultimately will change the way medical care is sold in the United States. MORE» |
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2012 Trustee Executive Briefings
 Achieving Fiscal Fitness | October 2012By Howard Larkin The simple truth of health system reform is this: Hospitals will have to do more with less. MORE» |
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 Caring for Vulnerable Populations | June 2012By 2011 AHA Committee on Research Approximately 9.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries are dual eligibles - low-income seniors and younger persons with disabilities who are enrolled in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. MORE» |
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 The Patient-Centered Medical Home | March 2012By Howard Larkin The major thrust of health reform, both public and private, is reducing costs while improving quality, patient safety, patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. And the tool of choice is payment schemes that put hospitals, physicians and other providers jointly at risk for the quality and overall cost of patient care. MORE» |
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2011 Trustee Executive Briefings
 Community Health Needs Assessment | October 2011By Michael Bilton For many years, numerous hospitals have assessed the health needs of their communities as an expression of their mission and a component of their community health programs. This process is now poised to become a universal activity among nonprofit, tax-exempt hospitals. MORE» |
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 The RAC Program and Hospital Risk | June 2011By Howard Larkin Since their inception in 1965, Medicare and Medicaid have instituted many audit agencies and programs. Among the newest and fastest-growing is the Recovery Audit Contractor program, known as RAC. MORE» |
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 How to Evaluate Financial Risks | March 2011By Susanna E. Krentz and Thomas R. Miller Risk has a negative connotation and is often viewed as something to be avoided. However, incurring risk is not inherently bad. It is important to understand risk—and financial risk, specifically—to ensure that an organization's portfolio of activity reflects an appropriate level of risk given the organization's culture, financial position and strategic plan. MORE» |
