Resources

Publishing reports on health care spending is an important part of the Cost Board’s work. Primarily, we send a report to the Legislature every year with recommendations on how to reduce the growth of health care costs.

Along with our recent reports to the Legislature, you can also read our analyses of health care spending growth in Washington. These analyses improve transparency by sharing the spending data that we collect from health care providers and insurers.

Along with our reports, briefs, and articles, this page also has resources from other groups that focus on health care costs and state health policy.

Cost Board publications

Reports

• 2024 annual report to the Legislature (December 2024)
  • Public comments
• Health care spending growth in Washington, 2019–2022 (December 2024)
• Health care spending growth in Washington, 2017–2019 and report summary (June 2024)
• 2023 annual report to the Legislature (September 2023)
• 2022 annual report to the Legislature (October 2022)

Reports prepared for the Cost Board

• Washington Hospital Financial Analysis (July 2024), prepared by Bartholomew & Nash.

About the Cost Board

• About the Cost Board one-pager (August 2024)
• Cost Board FAQ (August 2024)
• Cost Board charter and operating procedures (February 2021)

Articles featuring the Cost Board

• To Transparency and Beyond: Snapshots of States Using Cost Growth Targets to Improve Health Care Affordability (May 2024). The Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs featured the Cost Board in this case study.
• Video: Inside Olympia — Health Care Cost Transparency Board (March 2024). Washington state’s public affairs network, TVW, interviewed board members Sue Birch and Eileen Cody on Inside Olympia.
• Health care costs are increasing, but there’s a way out (February 2024). This op-ed shares insights from Sue Birch and Drew Oliveira. At the time of writing, Sue was the director of the Health Care Authority and chair of the Cost Board. Drew is executive director of the Washington Health Alliance.

Our primary care definition

Primary care spending is an important health care cost issue. But the Cost Board needed to clearly define primary care to best track and monitor primary care spending. We’ve adopted a specific definition with help from our Advisory Committee on Primary Care:

• Learn more about the primary care definition.
• Download our primary care definition spreadsheet.

Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey (CHESS)

The Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey (CHESS) asks people across the United States about their views on a wide range of health system issues. Explore the CHESS results for Washington, which includes these reports:

• Washington Residents Bear Health Care Affordability Burdens Unequally; Distrust of/Disrespect by Health Care Providers Leads Some to Delay/Go Without Needed Care (August 2023)
• Washington Residents Worry About High Drug Costs; Support a Range of Government Solutions (November 2022)
• Washington Residents Struggle to Afford High Healthcare Costs; Worry About Affording Healthcare in the Future; Support Government Action Across Party Lines (November 2022)

Other states' cost-containment efforts

• View other state’s CHESS data briefs.
• Watch the video A State-Led Approach to Improving the Affordability of Health Care from the Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs. The program supports state-led efforts to make health care more affordable for everyone.

Get involved

To stay informed about the Cost Board’s latest reports, sign up for our emails and attend our meetings.