Projects
Engaged Public has an impressive list of past projects, including:
In recent years, there have been robust conversations nationally about how to make sure all Americans have access to health care. However, as a nation we have not had the same robust conversation about what care we’re providing access to. Most agree the current state of our healthcare delivery system is unsustainable. There is underuse of life-saving preventive services and treatment for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart failure. Simultaneously, there is overuse and misuse of health care services that yield relatively little benefit and may cause harm. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003, patients get about 55% of recommended care. This occurs in part because incentives in our system encourage volume of services over value of services, and in part because there is a lack of good medical information available when patients and providers are making decisions about care.
In light of these complex and costly shortcomings of our system, many believe the time is right to nurture new approaches outside of the usual and customary. One promising and innovative approach is to use the most recent assessments of clinical effectiveness, cost efficiency, and publicly held values to prioritize healthcare services covered by insurance. The concept is to construct smarter benefit packages that produce greater health per dollar spent at any price point.
Colorado currently has the opportunity through a grant from the federal government to explore this approach. The Colorado Innovative Benefit Design Pilot will demonstrate a new approach to healthcare benefits that relies more heavily on science in order to make it easier to get the care that works best and to avoid unneeded treatments. Health care is almost always paid for through shared resources, such as insurance or government, therefore promoting higher value care and discouraging unneeded treatments benefits everyone.
TBD Colorado
TBD Colorado is a nonpartisan, collaborative effort to create informed and constructive conversations among Coloradans about some of the biggest issues facing the state. TBD Colorado hosted 70 community meetings with 1,200+ participants throughout Colorado in April, May and June, 2012. TBD is an acronym for “To Be Determined.” TBD truly captures the intended outcome of this effort – it’s to be determined.
The passage of federal health care reform and state initiatives to increase access to quality, affordable care means more people will be seeking care than ever before. However, does Colorado have the health care professionals—doctors, nurses, dentists and other—to care for them? What will happen as baby boomers retire in greater numbers and seek care themselves? These are questions that are being asked by the Colorado Health Care Professions Workforce Collaborative, a multi-disciplinary effort to learn about the issues and to develop appropriate strategies, including state-level policy change. This project is funded by The Colorado Trust.
In 2007, Governor Ritter issued an executive order creating a task force to make recommendations to address the nurse shortage in Colorado and to identify nursing-sensitive measures to be included on Colorado's Hospital Report Card. The task force was co-chaired by appointees of the Colorado Hospital Association and The Nurse Alliance of SEIU. Engaged Public provided comprehensive staffing and facilitation.
In House Bill 08-1390, the Colorado General Assembly created a task force to develop a plan for funding CoverColorado, the state's high-risk insurance pool, so that the program can be sustained over the next ten years. Engaged Public provided comprehensive staffing, facilitation, and writing services to assist the Task Force in creating and delivering its final report to the Legislature on March 31, 2009. Click here to view the final report.
In 2004, Engaged Public facilitated a series of negotiations between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools. The talks included discussion of pay for performance implementation issues, working conditions, professional development and other issues.
In the fall and winter of 2007, Governor Ritter undertook a statewide dialogue with more than 400 community leaders about their vision and values for health care reform. In conjunction with the Governor's Office, Engaged Public directed and facilitated the process and provided keypad polling devices for use by meeting participants. Click here for the dialogue guide and here for final report.
The Dr. A.J. Kauvar Foundation adapted a community-based health care coverage program to be implemented in Pueblo County, Colorado. The plan is based upon offering a basic benefit package designed using CHAT (Choosing Health plans All Together) combined with a financing plan that divides the cost between the employer, employee and government. More information can be found at www.healthaccesspueblo.org
HCCU was an unprecedented effort among major influencers of federal health care policy to develop consensus recommendations to Congress. Participants included senior officials of America's Health Insurance Plans, American Medical Association, FamiliesUSA, US Chamber of Commerce, American Public Health Association, AARP and others. The project produced a consensus recommendation announced in January of 2007 that can be found here.
In early 2007, Governor Bill Ritter established the P20 Education Coordinating Council. Engaged Public provided process and content support for the Council's System Transformation Subcommittee, co-chaired by former Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien. Their aim is to develop strategies to transform the way Colorado approaches and delivers public education to a more effective, coordinated, and student-centered system that will meet the needs for Colorado's future.