SESSION 4:
Employers & Purchasers: It's Time to Refresh Your Contracts with Consultants & Brokers in Light of CAA 

SESSION 3:
Five Key Actions for CAA Pharmacy Benefit Compliance

Presentation Slides and Toolkit:

SESSION 2:
New Mental Health Parity Requirements: Are You Ready?

Presentation Slides and Toolkit:

SESSION 1:
Fiduciary Responsibility: 4 Things Employers Must do by January 1

Compliance is not only required - it will save money and help employees

The new Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), signed into federal law on December 27, 2020, will remove the gag clauses and provide a great deal of valuable information for plan sponsors. At the same time, plan sponsors are on the hook for ensuring healht benefits are cost effective and high quality, similar to the fiduciary responsibility associated with pension and 401(k) plans.

Presentation Slides:

Toolkit:

2021 Top Hospital Recipients Recognized

149 Hospitals Receive Award, 10 Hospitals Recognized in Pennsylvania

December 7, 2021 – The Leapfrog Group announced the 2021 recipients of its annual Top Hospital Award, the nation's most competitive recognition for excellence in hospital safety and quality. Hospital selection was based on excellence in upholding quality standards across several areas of patient care, including medication safety, survey outcomes, and infection rates, among many other patient priorities.

This year, 149 hospitals from across the country received the Top Hospital Award. Pennsylvania was among the five states with the most Top Hospitals. The Top Hospitals are recognized in four categories: Top General Hospitals (46 recipients), Top Rural Hospitals (23 recipients), Top Teaching Hospitals (72 recipients), and Top Children's Hospitals (8 recipients).

In Pennsylvania, the following Top General Hospitals were recognized:

• Butler Memorial Hospital
• Geisinger St. Luke's Hospital
• Paoli Hospital

In Pennsylvania, the following Top Teaching Hospitals were recognized:

• Jefferson Bucks
• Lancaster General Hospital
• St. Luke's Easton Hospital
• St. Luke's Hospital - Allentown Campus
• St. Luke's Hospital - Bethlehem Campus
• Temple University Hospital - Main Campus
• Wellspan Waynesboro Hospital

To read view the Press Release, click here.

First Ever National Awards Recognizing Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) for Excellence in Patient Care

Congratulations to the 13 Leapfrog Top ASCs!  

 November 30, 2021 – The Leapfrog Group, the nation's leading independent national watchdog organization comprised of employers and other purchasers, today announced the first ever Top Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Award, recognizing 13 ASCs across the country for exellence in quality of care and patient safety. This is the first national award of its kind bestowed to ASCs.

To read the entire News Release, click here.:

 Pennsylvania's Fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grades

December 7, 2021 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation's most influential employers and purchasers of health care, driven in Pennsylvania by LVBCH, announced the Fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades.

The independent grading system assigns an "A," "B," "C," "D," or "F" grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national measures of preventable errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The Fall 2021 Hospital Safety Grade represents the largest set of hospitals ever graded, with grades assigned to 2,901 facilities across the country.

In Pennsylvania, 135 hospitals were graded, and 62 earned an "A," 35 earned a "B," 31 earned a "C," 7 earned a "D," and none earned an "F." Only one Pennsylvania hospital - St. Clair Hospital located in Pittsburg - has received 'Straight As" since 2013.

LVBCH would like to recognize our local hospital systems and their hospitals that earned an "A" including: Geisinger's Geisinger Medical Center, Bloomsburg, and Lewistown hospitals; Lehigh Valley Health Network's Hazleton and Pocono hospitals; and St. Luke's University Health Network's Allentown, Anderson, Bethlehem, Easton, Lehighton, Miners, Monroe, Sacred Health, Upper Bucks, and Warren (NJ) Hospitals.

St. Luke's University Health Network has earned the national distinction of being one of two systems with 10 or more graded hospitals to earn all A safety grades.

To read view the Press Release, click here.

Leapfrog Releases Patient Exerience Report

Indicates Patient-Reported Signs of Safety Problems, Particularly for Pediatrics

 July 8, 2021 – The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers focused on health care safety and quality, today released its Patient Experience Report, which analyzes results of evidence-based and tested surveys that are administered to patients by hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) across the country. The report analyzes patient experience in three different settings of care: adult inpatient hospitals, hospitals that treat pediatric patients, and facilities that provide same-day surgeries. The report is based on results from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Surveys, reported through the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

To read the entire news release about the Patient Experience Report, click here.

To read view the Patient Experience Report, click here.

Leapfrog Releases Maternity Care Report

Report Finds Rate of C-Sections Remains too High, But Dramatic Progress on Other Maternity Care Indicators

April 8, 2021 – The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers focused on health care safety and quality, released its 2021 Maternity Care Report, which measures hospital performance against best practices across three high-risk areas of maternity care:

• Cesarean Sections
• Episiotomies
• Early Elective Deliveries

The report is based on results of the 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the flagship initiative of The Leapfrog Group. It is the only source of data on these measures that is publicly reported nationally, by hospital.

Press Release

Report

Leapfrog Announces Spring 2021 Hospital Safety Grades
56 PA Hospitals Earned an "A" Letter Grade - 4/29/21

Bethlehem, PA, April 29, 2021 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care, and driven in the Lehigh Valley and Eastern Pennsylvania by the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH), announced the Spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. 

The independent grading system assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” and “F” letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. based on their ability to protect patients from avoidable errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

To read the entire news release about the Spring 2021 Hospital Safety Grades, click here.

For hospital ratings in your area, click the image below or visit www.hosptialsafetygrade.org.

Best Maternity Care Hospitals Announced

February 16, 2021 – Newsweek announced its 2021 list of Best Maternity Care Hospitals. The distinction recognizes facilities that have excelled in providing care to mothers, newborns, and their families, as verified by the 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Best Maternity Care Hospitals is part of Newsweek’s Best Health Care series, powered by data from The Leapfrog Group.

Hospitals named as a Best Maternity Care Hospital have fully met The Leapfrog Group’s standards for maternity care on evidence-based, nationally standardized metrics. This includes lower rates of early elective delivery, NTSV C-section, and episiotomy, as well as compliance with process measures including newborn bilirubin screening prior to discharge and blood clot prevention techniques for mothers delivering via C-section. Best Maternity Care Hospitals have also demonstrated a commitment to safety via the fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.

Leapfrog Announces Fall 2020 Hospital Safety Grades
57 PA Hospitals Earned an "A" Letter Grade - 12/14/20

Bethlehem, PA, December 14, 2020 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care, and driven in the Lehigh Valley and Eastern Pennsylvania by the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH), announced the Fall 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. 

The independent grading system assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” and “F” letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. based on their ability to protect patients from avoidable errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

To read the entire news release about the Fall 2020 Hospital Safety Grades, click here.

For hospital ratings in your area, visit www.hosptialsafetygrade.org.

Leapfrog Announces 2020 Top Hospitals and Pandemic Heroes Awards - 12/08/20

Bethlehem, PA, November 7, 2019 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care, and driven in the Lehigh Valley and Eastern Pennsylvania by the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH), announced two prestigious awards: the annual Top Hospital Award, the Nation's most elite recognition for hospital excellence, and a new national award honoring pandemic heroes. 

In Pennsylvania 11 hospitals were names to the 2020 national list of Top Hospitals.To read the LVBCH news release about the Top Hospitals in Pennsylvania, click here.

To read the Leapfrog news release about the Top Hospitals and Pandemic Heroes Awards, click here.

Leapfrog Announces Fall 2019 Hospital Safety Grades
56 PA Hospitals Earned an "A" Letter Grade - 11/07/19

Bethlehem, PA, November 7, 2019 – The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care, and driven in the Lehigh Valley and Eastern Pennsylvania by the Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare (LVBCH), announced today the fall 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. 

The independent grading system assigns “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” and “F” letter grades to general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. based on their ability to protect patients from avoidable errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

In Pennsylvania 123 hospitals were graded, and 56 earned an “A,” 32 earned a “B,” 27 earned a “C,” 8 earned a “D” and none earned an “F.” Only one Pennsylvania hospital – St. Clair Hospital located in Pittsburg – has received ‘Straight As’ since 2013.

To read the entire news release about the Fall 2019 Hospital Safety Grades and see the complete list of the 56 hospitals in PA that were graded an 'A' in this latest update, click here.

For hospital ratings in your area, click the image below or visit www.hosptialsafetygrade.org.

Leapfrog Report finds U.S. Hospitals Not Meeting Surgical Safety Standards - 07/18/19

WASHINGTON D.C. (July 18, 2019) - The Leapfrog Group, an independent national health care watchdog organization, today released Safety In Numbers: The Leapfrog Group’s Report on High-Risk Surgeries Performed at American Hospitals. The report analyzes eight high-risk procedures to determine which hospitals and surgeons perform enough of them to minimize the risk of patient harm or death, and whether hospitals actively monitor to assure that each surgery is necessary. The report finds that the vast majority of participating hospitals do not meet The Leapfrog Group’s minimum hospital or surgeon volume standards for safety nor do they have adequate policies in place to monitor for appropriateness. Rural hospitals are particularly challenged in meeting the standards.

Safety In Numbers summarizes findings from the 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, submitted by over 2,000 hospitals nationwide. This is the first year Leapfrog reported the new surgical standard by hospital, assessing whether both hospitals and surgeons met volume standards, and whether hospitals monitored for surgical necessity. In addition to the report released today, individual hospital results are freely available and searchable at www.leapfroggroup.org/compare.

The eight high-risk procedures highlighted in Safety In Numbers were selected based on an intensive review of hundreds of studies conducted over the past decade, as well as guidance from Leapfrog’s National Inpatient Surgery Expert Panel. From this analysis, Leapfrog set evidence-based standards for the minimum number of procedures each hospital and each surgeon should perform.

To read the entire news release, click here.

 

Maternity Care Trends from 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Survey - 05/2019

Having a baby is a life-changing experience, so women and families often research carefully before choosing where to give birth. Indeed, maternity care varies greatly from hospital to hospital, even within the same city, as data from the Leapfrog Hospital Survey reveals. The Leapfrog Group is an independent nonprofit that tracks and reports hospital quality nationally using data provided voluntarily by hospitals.

The maternity care section of the Leapfrog Hospital Survey examines three medical interventions that experts say unnecessarily increase risks to women and babies; cesaean sections, episiotomy, and early elective deliveries. Comparing hospital performance on these procedures can help women choose the best facility for their family and give them information to use in a frank conversation with their doctor or nurse prior to the time of delivery. This report examines national trends revealed in the 2018 Leapfrog Hospital Survey. To search rates and other data for individual hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/compare.

To read the entire report, click here.

Read the Safety in Numbers report now: