The political and policy implications of a rating system of community capacity to improve population health.

This article discusses the political and policy implications of a potential rating system of community capacity for health improvement. Evidence suggests that such a rating system will have little effect in the current health care environment unless it is directly related to the health care dollar. Community change agents and stakeholders, including the growing population of older adults, will perceive a rating system to have value only if the defined purpose meets their interests and needs, and if the rating system results prove useful for decisions that affect the bottom line in working on issues like health improvement and capacity.