The Greater Houston Area is home to world-class medical facilities, but many of its residents do not have access to basic health care. In a recent op-ed for the Houston Chronicle, Elena Marks, Baker Institute scholar in health policy, explains how a new initiative, the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP), could improve the Texas’ and Harris County’s current health care services:
“[DSRIP] pays health care providers, particularly hospitals, to change the way health care is delivered to achieve three goals: better care for individuals, better health for the population as a whole and lower costs. The focus areas that Texas will address, by its own choice, include infrastructure development (expanding outpatient facilities, increasing the primary care work force and investing in technology) and program innovation and redesign (developing new ways to deliver care).”
Marks credits the program to “hard work by our public and private hospital leadership alongside state and federal policymakers” that helped avoid or overcome any political obstacles. She notes that:
“The DSRIP gives us the chance to build the kind of system envisioned in the Greater Houston Partnership reports. It’s up to us to work together to together to make our lofty goals a reality.”
- Read Elena Marks’ Dec. 25, 2011, Houston Chronicle op-ed “Houston, we have a solution” and leave a comment below.