GAO Issues Report on Strategies for Health Care Integration - November 30, 2010

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Nov. 16 issued a long-awaited report on integrated delivery systems (IDSs). The report revealed that IDSs improve patient care by using electronic health records, operating their own health insurance plans and employing physicians. The report also discussed ways that IDSs facilitate access to care for underserved populations, including through use of community-based settings such as school-based health centers and federally-qualified health centers. However, IDSs experience challenges in providing care to underserved populations, particularly due to the financial strain of not being reimbursed for care coordination services. Locating specialty care, including mental health, was also a difficulty for underserved populations. While NAPH members make up just 2 percent of all hospitals, six of the 15 hospital systems (40 percent) studied in the GAO report were NAPH members. The NAPH member hospital systems studied by the GAO were:

• Cambridge Health Alliance – Cambridge, Mass.
• Denver Health – Denver, Co.
• Hennepin Healthcare System – Minneapolis, Minn.
• Memorial Healthcare System – Hollywood, Fla.
• Parkland Health and Hospital System – Dallas, Texas