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Evidence Reports All of EHC
Evidence Reports All of EHC

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Effective Health Care Program History

The Effective Health Care (EHC) Program was created from the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. Section 1013 of that legislation authorizes the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to (1) conduct patient-centered outcomes research that investigates different drugs, devices, surgeries, and health care delivery arrangements to determine which approaches work best, for which patients, and under which circumstances and (2) communicate its findings widely to a variety of audiences. The research is driven by the needs of the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance Program.

2005

2006

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted a listening session on Wednesday, January 11, 2006, to solicit input on research priorities for the EHC Program.

2007

A statement on AHRQ’s Research Efforts in Comparative Effectiveness was delivered on June 12, 2007, by Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, before the Committee on Ways and Means, the Subcommittee on Health, U.S. House of Representatives.

2008

Congress signaled continuing recognition of the EHC Program’s importance by doubling AHRQ’s budget for the program to $30 million.

2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided additional funding, in the amount of $300 million, for comparative effectiveness research. ARRA funded existing EHC Program projects in addition to new initiatives that supported comparative effectiveness research:

2013

The EHC Program started receiving funds from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund to conduct and disseminate patient-centered outcomes research.

2019

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund was reauthorized for another 10 years.

Page last reviewed January 2022
Page originally created September 2017

Internet Citation: Effective Health Care Program History. Content last reviewed January 2022. Effective Health Care Program, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/about/history

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