Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Earns National Health Quality Award for Work to Expand Access to Health Care

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell has earned national recognition for his continuing efforts to expand access to affordable, quality health care for all Pennsylvanians.

The Governor accepted the 2010 Health Quality Award from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, or NCQA, during a March 23 ceremony in Washington, D.C.

NCQA recognized Governor Rendell's efforts to make health care more efficient and cost-effective through his comprehensive healthcare reform package, Prescription for Pennsylvania – also known as Rx for PA, launched in 2007.

The components of Rx for PA that have been enacted to date include: "Cover All Kids," the nation's toughest legislation to reduce the number of healthcare acquired infections; permitting healthcare practitioners to practice to the full extent of their training; allowing parents to keep dependent children on their health insurance polices at their expense until the children turn 30; banning indoor smoking in most public places; and prohibiting healthcare providers to charge for "never" events, which are preventable medical errors.

The NCQA specifically highlighted Governor Rendell's leadership on healthcare reform through the Pennsylvania Chronic Care Initiative, one of the nation's largest patient-centered medical home demonstration projects.

The Chronic Care Initiative includes more than 170 medical practices, 800 health providers and more than 1.1 million patients across Pennsylvania. It aims to reform the way in which chronic illness is treated and paid for. Reforming the treatment of chronic illness has the potential to significantly improve patient health while reducing costs by eliminating avoidable emergency room visits and hospitalizations. 

To do this, physicians and health providers learn to make practice changes to increase efficiency and use data to improve health outcomes. Patients learn to better manage their conditions to improve their quality of life.

As part of this initiative, Governor Rendell announced a new Web site, www.meetyourhealthhalfway.com  where individuals can learn about the small steps they can take to lead healthier lives. The Web site contains a risk assessment tool and resources to find a health care provider to discuss risk factors and ways to develop a health improvement plan.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor