Research Holds Cure for Health Care's Systemic Ills, Coalition Tells Congress; Increased Funding Needed to Solve Soaring Costs

5/7/2003

From: Jon Lawniczak or Kari Root, 202-292-6700, both of the Coalition for Health Services Research

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- The Coalition for Health Services Research calls on Congress to increase spending by $196 million in FY 2004 for research and analysis required by our public and private health care systems to ensure high quality and cost-effective delivery of services. Donald M. Steinwachs, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, testifies today on behalf of the Coalition before the U.S. House of Representatives' Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.

"The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) leads the world in its research into patient safety, quality of care, and translation of research into practice," says Steinwachs. "Yet, a lack of funds prevents AHRQ from doing more research to understand, for example, the root causes of rising health care costs, improved patient outcomes, and better disease management tools for those with chronic illnesses." The Coalition and the 130 member organizations of the Friends of AHRQ are asking Congress to fund AHRQ at $390 million in FY 2004.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is the main federal agency that collects and provides data without which the health services researcher cannot do his or her job. The Coalition asks Congress to increase NCHS' budget from $125 million to $180 million to improve current surveys and modernize its data collection and analysis technology, says Steinwachs. "This increase will improve both the quality and timeliness of research and analysis needed to inform critical national health issues," he says. The CDC also funds extramural prevention research through a program slated for elimination; the Coalition asks for the continuation of this vital research through funding it fully at $18 million.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) represents the largest health care delivery system in the United States. The Coalition calls for $60 million to fund CMS research to develop and test new financing mechanisms to improve cost and quality for the nation's elderly, low-income, and other special needs populations.

A copy of Dr. Steinwach's May 7 written testimony is available online at http://www.chsr.org/testimony.htm.

The Coalition for Health Services Research, the advocacy arm of AcademyHealth, promotes research to improve the nation's health care system and advocates for enhanced funding and policy initiatives.