Kudos to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine for backing meaningful market-based reform of Virginia’s health care system. The Commonwealth of Virginia has joined a federal initiative to stimulate effective market competition in the health care sector by giving citizens the information they need to be effective consumers. The four key measures include:
- Public reporting of the quality of care delivered by health care providers
- Public reporting of the price of care
- Commitment to health information technology standards, and
- Commitment to use incentives for high quality care, competitive costs and consumer choice.
“Health care transparency provides consumers with information and creates an incentive to choose health care providers based on value,”Kaine said in a press release. “It will help Virginians spend their health care dollars wisely when they know their options in advance, know the quality of hospitals in their area and know what procedures will cost. This transparency also will further motivate our health care providers to provide quality care at competitive prices.”
Kaine elaborated briefly on this consumer-driven health care initiative in comments at the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education banquet today. The purpose, he explained, is to create “a health care system that works like a market.” Between the Medicaid program and medical insurance for state employees, the Commonwealth provides health care for one in eight Virginians, the Governor said. The state will use its clout as a buyer to help shape the medical marketplace.
Reforming the health care system is one of Kaine’s top legislative priorities. It is reassuring to see that he has embraced market-based reforms.