By 2018, the state of Washington should have a treasure trove of data on the cost and quality of health care.
Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Thursday a requirement that all health insurers report their claims to a centralized database. Inslee, a Democrat, said the “all payer claims” database will help the state tackle a problem that Obamacare doesn’t get at.
“We’re really making progress on giving people more insurance, now we need to make sure that we get into the machinery of healthcare to improve quality and reduce costs,” the governor said.
One example of how the data might be used is that doctors and hospitals could analyze insurance claims to determine what works best to keep a patient from being readmitted to the hospital.
The state of Washington will contract with a vendor to create the insurance claims database.
Several sections of the new law address who will have access to the data and how to protect patient privacy.
Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network
