Evaluation Of A State s Health Care System And The...

Month Year All-Payer Claims Databases and the Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Case AAFP Position on Data Transparency and Sharing The AAFP’s policy on Transparency states the AAFP believes that transparency in health care should include disclosing payers’ fee schedules and payment policies, reporting physicians’ cost and quality information, and providing other relevant health care information. Background on All-Payer Claims Databases A growing number of states have established All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs) to fill information gaps, support health care finance and delivery reform initiatives, and increase price transparency for patients, providers, and other interested parties. APCDs are large-scale databases that collect, aggregate, and analyze data from multiple public and private payers. The data submitted by payers include medical claims, pharmacy claims, consumer eligibility information, and provider information; dental claims are also typically included, but not always. APCDs provide comprehensive information on health care costs, utilization, and quality that allow states and other stakeholders to better understand the overall performance of a state’s health care system. In 2003, Maine was the first state to implement a statewide APCD system and now 24 states (AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, NY, OK, OR, RI, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV) have existing or are currently implementi ng APCDs. States rely on APCDs to show results and trends from their