Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/717576
29 INTEGRATION STRATEGY Top 61 Health System Markets By Tamara Rosin H ealthcare in the U.S. improved between 2011 and 2014, when the Affordable Care Act was implement- ed, according to the 2016 edition of e Commonwealth Fund's Scorecard on Local Health System Performance. However, wide- spread differences in health outcomes persist between different geographic areas. e Commonwealth Fund's scorecard assess- es the state of healthcare in 306 U.S. regional healthcare markets, known as "hospital re- ferral regions." It uses three dozen indicators grouped into four main dimensions, including access and affordability of care; prevention and treatment; potentially avoidable hospital use and cost; and health behaviors and outcomes. e scorecard largely attributes the improve- ments to higher rates of insurance coverage under the ACA, the provision of higher quality care and fewer hospital readmissions. Overall, healthcare improved more than it worsened in 302 of the 306 assessed hospital referral regions, according to the 2016 scorecard. Below are the 61 top performing hospital re- ferral regions ranked by overall performance. ese markets comprise the first quintile of the ranking, with the second quintile begin- ning at No. 62. No. 1 — Honolulu No. 2 — St. Paul, Minn. No. 3 — San Mateo County, Calif. No. 4 — Rochester, Minn. No. 5 — Appleton, Wis. No. 6 — St. Cloud, Minn. No. 7 — San Jose, Calif. No. 7 — San Francisco No. 9 — Minneapolis No. 10 — Dubuque, Iowa No. 11 — Cedar Rapids, Iowa No. 12 — Boulder, Colo. No. 13 — Madison, Wis. No. 14 — San Luis Obispo, Calif. No. 15 — La Crosse, Wis. No. 16 — Seattle No. 17 — Contra Costa County, Calif. No. 18 — York, Pa. No. 19 — Green Bay, Wis. No. 20 — Providence, R.I. No. 21 — Alameda County, Calif. No. 22 — Lebanon, N.H. No. 23 — Santa Rosa, Calif. No. 24 — Mason City, Iowa No. 25 — Fort Collins, Colo. No. 26 — Boston No. 27 — Iowa City, Iowa No. 28 — Worcester, Mass. No. 29 — Arlington, Va. No. 30 — Sioux Falls, S.D. No. 30 — Rochester, N.Y. No. 32 — Des Moines, Iowa No. 33 — Fargo/Moorhead, Minn./N.D No. 34 — Santa Barbara, Calif. No. 34 — Morristown, N.J. No. 34 — Traverse City, Mich. No. 34 — Neenah, Wis. No. 38 — Wausau, Wis. No. 39 — Hinsdale, Ill. No. 40 — Manchester, N.H. No. 40 — Portland, Maine No. 42 — Ogden, Utah No. 43 — Hartford, Conn. No. 44 — Duluth, Minn. No. 45 — Albany, N.Y. No. 46 — Everett, Wash. No. 47 — Takoma Park, Md. No. 48 — Springfield, Mass. No. 49 — Marshfield, Wis. No. 50 — Lincoln, Neb. No. 50 — Denver No. 52 — Grand Rapids, Mich. No. 53 — Marquette, Mich. No. 54 — Sacramento, Calif. No. 54 — Sioux City, Iowa No. 56 — Waterloo, Iowa No. 57 — Bismarck, N.D. No. 58 — Santa Cruz, Calif. No. 59 — Syracuse, N.Y. No. 60 — Lancaster, Pa. No. 61 — Orange County, Calif. n 400 Physicians Cut Ties With Partners for Crosstown Rival: Tufts By Tamara Rosin N early 400 physicians from Medford, Mass.-based Hall- mark Health System have de- cided to end their longtime affiliation with Boston-based Partners Health- Care to join Tufts Medical Center, a rival physician network, according to The Boston Globe. The decision comes a month after Hallmark announced it would pursue a merger with Tuft's parent company. The Hallmark physicians would join Tuft's physician network — the New England Quality Care Alliance — Jan. 1, pending regulatory approval, ac- cording to the report. NEQCA is comprised of about 1,800 physicians. Because physicians tend to refer patients in need of specialty care to hospitals within their own networks, the deal could result in more referrals to Tufts and fewer to Partners' hospi- tals, according to the report. Hallmark's physician group and Part- ners have been affiliated for two de- cades. Hallmark sought to be acquired by Partners for the past three years, but called of the plan in December 2015 because of antitrust concerns. Hallmark and Tufts' plan to affiliate will be monitored by the Health Pol- icy Commission, the state agency that provides regulatory approval on healthcare transactions. n