Consumer-Purchaser Alliance

The Consumer-Purchaser Alliance was created to ensure that the voices of consumers and purchasers influence the improvement and redesign of the health care system. Our focus has been on value: better health outcomes and patient experience, at the lowest possible total cost of care. We believe that the health care system works best when consumers and purchasers have the information they need to make meaningful choices that reflect their needs and priorities. Our mission was to strengthen the voice of consumers and purchasers in the quest for higher quality, more affordable health care.

Underlying our mission is the core belief that provider payment models and performance measures are critical tools to drive change in the health system. Traditional payment models have rewarded volume of services rather than value. Until payment models are changed to reward better quality care, patient experience, appropriate use and efficiency, our health care system is unlikely to deliver improved value.

In order to reward value, of course, it is essential to measure it. Traditional measures have focused on the process of care rather than health outcomes, and they have seldom incorporated patient-generated data. In addition to their use in payment models, performance measures are essential for consumers and purchasers in making choices about doctors, hospitals, treatment plans, benefit designs and health plans. Until performance measures are improved to include clinical outcomes, patient-reported outcomes, patient experience and total cost of care, our health care system is unlikely to improve.

Co-chaired by the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) and Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), the Consumer-Purchaser Alliance consisted of over 50 consumer, labor and purchaser organizations (See ‘The Legacy of Consumer-Purchaser Alliance from 2003-2018: Accomplishments and Lessons Learned’ below for a list of participants). The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from 2003 to 2018.

Legacy Products

For 15 years, the Alliance catalyzed change in the way the health care system addressed the needs of those that receive and pay for care by creating an infrastructure that allowed consumers and purchasers to exert influence on the policy landscape. The unconventional collaboration of consumers and purchasers disrupted the power dynamics in health care policymaking, and their combined efforts produced results greater than their individual contributions alone. The history of the Alliance, including lessons learned and key achievements, is encapsulated in: The Legacy of the Consumer-Purchaser Alliance from 2003-2018: Accomplishments and Lessons Learned

The Consumer-Purchaser Alliance also left behind a set of products to inform and assist consumer and purchaser organizations that want to shape the future direction of our health care system.

  • The principles for provider payment models and criteria for performance measures are intended to help consumer and purchaser organizations and representatives engage with other stakeholders and policymakers in key decision forums.

Principles for Payment Models: Advancing Consumer & Purchaser Priorities

10 Criteria for Meaningful and Usable Measures of Performance

 

  • The patient-reported outcomes toolkit is intended to support consumer and purchaser advocacy of high-value patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported outcome performance measures (PRO-PMs) in clinical practice, for consumer choice and for provider payment. The toolkit consists of an Advocacy Guide and a Selection Guide. The Advocacy Guide describes C-P Alliance’s proven advocacy strategies for advancing widespread adoption and use of PROMs and PRO-PMs. The Selection Guide supports advocates in making specific PROM/PRO-PM recommendations for six high-impact clinical conditions (asthma, depression, coronary artery disease, heart failure, hip replacement and knee replacement) by allowing advocates to quickly understand which PRO tools (of the hundreds that exist) are 1) ready for use in clinical practice and 2) meet the needs of consumers and purchasers

Promoting the Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: Practical Tools for Consumers-and Purchasers

 

Historical Documents: Public Comments, Issue Briefs, etc.

The following are a selection of high-impact public comment letters and other documents that chronicle consumer and purchaser perspectives on key issues and programs

Key Issues

 

Federal Programs

Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation Center (CMMI)

 

Quality Payment Program (QPP)

 

Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS)

 

Episode Payment Models

 

Meaningful Use & Health Information Technology