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Support for health care transparency bill in Olympia

Updated February 11, 2015

A bill that would require health insurance companies to submit all patient claims to a statewide database, making health care cost and quality information more transparent, was met with support in Olympia last week. Last Friday, our executive director Nancy Giunto testified to the House Health Care & Wellness Committee in support of House Bill 1437, which modifies legislation passed in the 2014 session to establish an All-Payer Claims Database in Washington state.

This new bill would improve health care quality and cost transparency by changing key provisions of the existing legislation regarding data, reporting and pricing of products, responsibilities of the Office of Financial Management and the lead organization as well as the process for submission to the database and parameters for release of information.

Led by Rep. Eileen Cody, the committee heard testimonies from supporters from several other groups representing diverse interests including health care providers, the business community and insurance plans. The bill has passed the House health care committee and will next move to the House floor for debate.

UPDATE:

Ms. Giunto testified on February 9, 2015 to the Washington State Senate Health Care Committee in support of Senate Bill 5084. The committee heard testimonies from several groups representing health care consumers, providers, insurance plans and the business community. You can read Ms. Giunto’s testimony and watch the hearing on TVW.

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Published: February 4, 2015

About Washington Health Alliance

The Washington Health Alliance is a place where stakeholders work collaboratively to transform Washington state’s health care system for the better. The Alliance brings together organizations that share a commitment to drive change in our health care system by offering a forum for critical conversation and aligned efforts by stakeholders: purchasers, providers, health plans, consumers and other health care partners. The Alliance believes strongly in transparency and offers trusted and credible reporting of progress on measures of health care quality and value. The Alliance is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than 185 member organizations. A cornerstone of the Alliance's work is the Community Checkup, a report to the public comparing the performance of medical groups, hospitals and health plans and offering a community-level view on important measures of health care quality (www.wacommunitycheckup.org).

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