Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has instituted a pay-for-performance program for all state-paid healthcare plans, including the state's medical assistance programs for the poor and the health plans for state workers. The program will set standards for quality of care in four of the most expensive areas: diabetes, hospital stays, preventive care and cardiac care. In each area, it will set targets for healthcare providers and pay bonuses to those who increase quality and performance. The move follows a related announcement by WellPoint, which announced last month that it would work with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons to offer performance pay [1] when cardiac patients experience positive outcomes. Pawlenty's effort will measure the quality of care delivered by providers, and make that information available to the public online at a state Web site.

Democratic challengers call the Republican governor's move an example of election-year posturing with no real impact, and blame climbing premium costs on his reluctance to regulate health insurers. Minnesota pays for the health care of one in five residents, and spends about $4 billion a year. Pawlenty estimates the program will save $150 million a year.

For more details on the P4P program:
- see this article [2] in the St. Paul Pioneer Press