On November 21, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) [protected file_id=”579″ form_url=”/document-request/”]announced[/protected] that the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation, the Kansas City Quality Improvement Consortium, and The Health Collaborative in Cincinnati are the first organizations in the nation to be designated as Qualified Entities to receive Medicare claims data for use in measuring and publicly reporting on the quality and cost of care for Medicare beneficiaries. The Maine Health Management Coalition was selected as the fourth Qualified Entity. The selection of these four Regional Health Improvement Collaboratives as the initial Qualified Entities demonstrates the unique capabilities that RHICs have created in order to transform healthcare in their communities.