30 Apr The Task Force Releases the Raising the Bar Implementation Guide: How to Drive Equitable, High-Quality, Cost-Effective Health Care
WASHINGTON (April 30, 2025) – The Health Care Transformation Task Force (Task Force) – a group of leading health care payers, providers, purchasers, patient organizations, and value transformation partners – released a resource titled Raising the Bar Implementation Guide: How to Drive Equitable, High-Quality, Cost-Effective Health Care. Health equity is an important part of driving health care quality and ensuring that people have access to the care they need. This resource presents facilitators, challenges, and case studies from organizations that implemented strategies to increase access to care for rural and other vulnerable populations.
In 2025, health equity is facing headwinds. The projects highlighted in this resource reflect efforts that concluded in 2024, but the key takeaways remain relevant to organizations seeking to advance equity work today. Despite swirling uncertainties in the political landscape, we must work to meet people’s needs for more high-quality, accessible, and affordable care.
“At the Task Force, we believe that all people deserve access to high-quality care,” said Theresa Dreyer, Interim Executive Director at the Health Care Transformation Task Force. “This guide offers real-world insights and actionable strategies for organizations committed to closing gaps in care. We are proud to partner with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to drive this work forward.”
Raising the Bar is a multi-year project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), that helps organizations advance health equity. In its first phase, the Task Force collaborated with several organizations to develop the Raising the Bar framework, which outlines concrete actions to improve care for vulnerable populations. In 2024, RWJF supported four organizations, including a behavioral health clinic, a public health department, and two health systems, to implement health equity initiatives using the framework. Despite their diverse goals, common themes emerged. This resource also incorporates findings on Task Force payer and provider strategies for advancing health equity and from our Health Equity Business Case. These insights are intended to help other organizations to implement the framework.
“In working one-on-one with health care and public health organizations, we saw how the Raising the Bar framework served as a practical guide and supported tailored approaches to advancing health equity,” said Sara Singleton, an advisor to the National Alliance to Impact the Social Determinants of Health and Principal at Leavitt Partners. “The framework remains relevant for organizations seeking to improve health and well-being for individuals and communities across the country.”
“Health equity is not an optional add-on, it is fundamental to a high-quality health care system that truly serves all people,” said Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, Vice President for Health Justice at the National Partnership for Women & Families and Task Force Board Member. “By sharing lessons from organizations doing the hard work of implementing equity-focused strategies, this guide provides a critical roadmap for making real progress toward a just and inclusive health system.”