AARP: Creating a New Health Care Paradigm
Uniquely Positioned to Improve Health Care - Leveraging Our Strength
AARP's 38 million members are the strongest force for improving health care in America, and we are using our strength to improve the health care of our members and all Americans. We are seizing the opportunity as the steward of the largest health insurance program for people 50+ to leverage new and expanded insurance provider relationships that will shift the health care paradigm by:
- Improving quality and efficiency;
- Expanding access to affordable health care for diverse populations;
- Increasing price and quality transparency; and
- Ensuring accountability.
AARP's new insurance provider relationships with Aetna and UnitedHealthcare are a first for the health insurance industry because AARP has used the power of its 38 million members to link insurers' revenues with their ability to improve people's health. These efforts benefit not only our members, but will improve the marketplace overall.
AARP, using its purchasing power, will improve the quality and efficiency of health care for all Americans.
- These relationships will measure the performance of the plans using state-of-the-art tools to measure quality, efficiency and consumer experience.
- These relationships will encourage top quality care for people by publicly reporting the performance results of these health plans and insurance providers. This information will mobilize AARP members to become "value shoppers" when it comes to their health care.
- These relationships will encourage the use of information technologies -- including personal health records and electronic prescribing -- to improve patient safety, reduce duplication of services and waste, and improve availability of quality outcomes information.
AARP will improve access to affordable and accessible health care for its diverse populations.
- These relationships will focus on community outreach to diverse populations and multi-language materials and services, ensuring they get the care they need and have coverage when they need it.
- These relationships will develop products and services to meet the unique needs of diverse communities, including chronic care and disease management programs.
- These relationships will challenge providers to eliminate disparities in access to networks.
AARP will require insurance providers to use easy-to-understand language when communicating with members.
AARP is making it easier for individuals to understand their care through the availability of information that will clearly explain the quality, effectiveness, and costs of health care. We will:
- Give people easy to understand information and interactive tools about prevention, risk-reduction, and self care;
- Provide access to new health care information technologies, including Health Risk Assessments and Personal Health Records;
- Require the use of "Plain Language" in health care materials to empower people to make decisions about their own health care; and
- Help people and their families navigate the choices of competing drugs and medical technologies by establishing simple drug and health product assessment tools.
AARP will establish, monitor and continually assess health plan accountability, reporting its findings on a regular basis for our members and everyone.
- Our responsibility is to our members and society, which is why AARP will measure and continuously improve the clinical performance and efficiency of its health plans.
- AARP will use the following measurement tools and will develop new tools designed around the special health care needs of people 50+:
- HEDIS (Health Plan Employer Data Information Set) - a set of health care measures developed by National Committee for Quality Assurance and widely used by employers and health plans,
- CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) - the standard survey instrument to measure consumer experience of care, and
- eValue8 - a comprehensive analytical tool used by major employers and employer coalitions to evaluate health plans.
- AARP will review the performance of these contracts annually over the seven-year period, and widely report successes in improving health care so we can encourage changes in the marketplace.
