The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) is taking steps toward collecting an all-payer claims database. As called for in its reauthorizing legislation (PA Act 3 of 2009), PHC4 has reconstituted its Payment Data Advisory Group in an effort to move decisively and expeditiously forward on payment data collection, analysis and reporting.
The group’s membership is outlined in Act 3 and includes members representing health plans, health care facilities, and physicians. Since its inaugural meeting in January, the group has met a total of six times. The tone and pace of the meetings have been positive and goal-oriented.
PHC4 has reached beyond the group membership to engage stakeholder involvement at all levels. Representatives from the purchaser community have shared their views on how PHC4 payment data could be beneficial to them. The group has benefited enormously in hearing from a variety of experts and organizations, including other states that have already developed successful systems of payment data collection, analysis and reporting. Hearing from these states has provided some reassurance to the group about the tractability of the many complex technical issues involved with payment analysis.
The Payment Data Advisory Group continues to work expeditiously toward creating a credible payment data product for PHC4’s needs and hopes to have a recommendation to the Council this fall regarding the collection of payment data.
