What we're working on

What's the role of the board?

The Health Care Cost Transparency Board is responsible for reducing the state's health care cost growth by:

• Determining the state's total health care expenditures.
• Identifying cost trends and cost drivers in the health care system.
• Setting a health care cost growth benchmark for providers and payers.
• Reporting annually to the Legislature, including providing recommendations for lowering health care costs.

Identifying the rate of growth of health care spending

Every year, the board will set a benchmark for the annual rate of growth of total health care spending in Washington State. The board will identify health care providers and payers (plans) that are exceeding the established benchmark. The purpose of the benchmark and public reporting are to:

• Make health care costs more transparent to the public and policymakers.
• Encourage providers and payers to keep costs at or below the benchmark.
• Reduce the overall trend of health care cost growth in Washington State.

Benchmark data

The call for benchmark data is conducted annually and requires the largest health insurance carriers doing business in Washington State to submit data to the Health Care Authority (HCA). This data will be used to calculate the state’s total health care expenditures and measure benchmark performance.

The benchmark is a specific rate of spending growth that carriers and providers will be held to and should try to stay under to make health care more affordable.