MINNESOTA COALITION ON HEALTH:

In 1977, the Minnesota Medical Association appointed a commission to study the causes of escalating health care costs and what measures might be taken to stabilize those costs. This group, the Minnesota Commission on Health Care Costs, issued a report in 1979 with a series of recommendations, including the creation of a non-profit coalition of business, labor, government, consumers, providers and others to implement the commission's other recommendations for improving the cost-effectiveness of health services in Minnesota. A steering committee was appointed and in 1980 the Minnesota Coalition on Health Care Costs was established with a mission to "initiate and support efforts which assure that all health providers, consumers, and payers work together towards improved, cost-effective and quality health services."

In February 1986, the organization changed its name to Minnesota Coalition on Health, reflecting a broadening of its focus to quality of care and accessibility, in addition to cost containment. As part of this expanded mission, the Coalition sponsored the Health Plan Outcomes Comparison Project (HPOCP), which was intended to create comparative information on quality of care, disseminate the information, and create incentives to improve performance. The Coalition dissolved in 1992, citing changing political dynamics in the community and lack of funding.

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Minutes, correspondence, reports, and other files of an organization dedicated to improving the affordability, accessibility, and quality of health care in Minnesota. A nearly complete set of minutes of both the board of directors and the executive committee, as well as an extensive collection of reports issued by or sponsored by the organization provide a fairly complete record of its activities during its twelve-year existence. Major issues explored by the Coalition and documented in the records include ethics of medical technology and the state of rural health care. Files from the Health Plan Outcomes Comparison Project, an ambitious initiative to measure and compare cost and quality of care given by providers, disseminate the comparison data, and create incentives to use the information to improve performance, make up the bulk of the subject files. Also included are records of the incorporation (1984) and dissolution (1985) of a subsidiary organization, the Twin Cities Community Program for Affordable Health Care (TCPAHC).

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota Coalition on Health Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,608

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman~Shedlov, December 2001.

Catalog ID number: 990017373440104294

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The 1979 report and recommendations of the Minnesota Commission on Health Care Costs, "New Directions For Health Care," is separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society book collection.

The David L. Graven Papers, which include records concerning his involvement with the Minnesota Coalition on Health Care Costs, are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Managed health plans (Medical care) -- Minnesota.

Medical care, Cost of -- Minnesota.

Medical care -- Quality control.

Organizations:

Minnesota Coalition on Health Care Costs.

Minnesota Medical Association. Commission on Health Care Costs.

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