Kearney pushes to collect health care cost data

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(The Center Square) - Sen. Tim Kearney, D-Media, has introduced a bill he said would improve transparency in the health care industry.

The bill would create a state All-Payers Claims Database to collect data about claims covered by both public and private insurance companies for medical, dental, pharmaceutical, emergency, and behavioral health care.

“The creation of an APCD in Pennsylvania will provide a critical tool for consumers and the legislature as we consider the ongoing crisis of increasing healthcare costs,” wrote Kearney.

Kearney says the database would provide clarity on prices for different services and allow people to compare the costs and coverage for different providers. It would also help the Pennsylvania Insurance Department ensure that rates and negotiations are fair.

APCDs already exist in 25 states.

According to Kearney, “Minnesota’s Department of Health in 2015 used its APCD to identify over 1.3 million hospital and emergency department visits that may have been preventable, which represented over $1.9 billion or 4.8% of total health care spending for that year.”