The outcome for AHCPR. Interview by Laura Lynn Brown

In late July, a House Appropriations Subcommittee voted to cut the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) budget by 21 percent in fiscal year 1996. The six-year-old, $162 million agency has produced clinical practice guidelines for 10 of the 15 costliest conditions for which people are hospitalized. Their application has saved the health system far more than AHCPR costs, many experts believe. The agency's supporters say its work is a critical underpinning of the movement in value-based purchasing and quality assurance, while many Congressional Republicans believe the private sector could do AHCPR's work just as well. Health Systems REVIEW recently spoke with AHCPR administrator Clifton R. Gaus about the agency's mission and its strategy for survival.