RCW 70.390.050 — Authority to establish advisory committees—Duties.

1. (1) The board has the authority to establish and appoint advisory committees, in accordance with the requirements of RCW 70.390.040, and shall seek input and recommendations from relevant advisory committees.

2. (2) The board shall:

   1. (a) Determine the types and sources of data necessary to annually calculate total health care expenditures and health care cost growth, establish the health care cost growth benchmark, and analyze the impact of cost drivers on health care spending, including execution of any necessary access and data security agreements with the custodians of the data. The board shall first identify existing data sources, such as the statewide health care claims database established in chapter 43.371 RCW and prescription drug data collected under chapter 43.71C RCW, and primarily rely on these sources when possible in order to minimize the creation of new reporting requirements. The board may use data received from existing data sources including, but not limited to, publicly available information filed by carriers under Title 48 RCW and data collected under chapters 43.70, 43.71, 43.71C, 43.371, and 70.405 RCW, in its analyses and discussions to the same extent that the custodians of the data are permitted to use the data. As appropriate to promote administrative efficiencies, the board may share its data with the prescription drug affordability board under chapter 70.405 RCW and other health care cost analysis efforts conducted by the state;
   2. (b) Determine the means and methods for gathering data to annually calculate total health care expenditures and health care cost growth, and to establish the health care cost growth benchmark. The board must select an appropriate economic indicator to use when establishing the health care cost growth benchmark. The activities may include selecting methodologies and determining sources of data. The board shall solicit and consider recommendations from the advisory committee on data issues and the health care stakeholder advisory committee regarding the value and feasibility of reporting various categories of information under (c) of this subsection, such as urban and rural, public sector and private sector, and major categories of health services, including prescription drugs, inpatient treatment, and outpatient treatment;

   3. (c) Annually calculate total health care expenditures and health care cost growth:

      1. (i) Statewide and by geographic rating area;
      2. (ii) For each health care provider or provider system and each payer, taking into account the health status of the patients of the health care provider or the enrollees of the payer, utilization by the patients of the health care provider or the enrollees of the payer, intensity of services provided to the patients of the health care provider or the enrollees of the payer, and regional differences in input prices. The board must develop an implementation plan for reporting information about health care providers, provider systems, and payers;
      3. (iii) By market segment;
      4. (iv) Per capita; and
      5. (v) For other categories, as recommended by the advisory committees in (b) of this subsection, and approved by the board;
   4. (d) Annually establish the health care cost growth benchmark for increases in total health expenditures. The board, in determining the health care cost growth benchmark, shall begin with an initial implementation that applies to the highest cost drivers in the health care system and develop a phased plan to include other components of the health system for subsequent years;

   5. (e) Beginning in 2023, analyze the impacts of cost drivers to health care and incorporate this analysis into determining the annual total health care expenditures and establishing the annual health care cost growth benchmark. The cost drivers may include, to the extent such data is available:

      1. (i) Labor, including but not limited to, wages, benefits, and salaries;
      2. (ii) Capital costs, including but not limited to new technology;
      3. (iii) Supply costs, including but not limited to prescription drug costs;
      4. (iv) Uncompensated care;
      5. (v) Administrative and compliance costs;
      6. (vi) Federal, state, and local taxes;
      7. (vii) Capacity, funding, and access to postacute care, long-term services and supports, and housing;
      8. (viii) Regional differences in input prices;
      9. (ix) Financial earnings of health care providers and payers, including information regarding profits, assets, accumulated surpluses, reserves, and investment income, and similar information;
      10. (x) Utilization trends and adjustments for demographic changes and severity of illness;
      11. (xi) New state health insurance benefit mandates enacted by the legislature that require carriers to reimburse the cost of specified procedures or prescriptions; and
      12. (xii) Other cost drivers determined by the board to be informative to determining annual total health care expenditures and establishing the annual health care cost growth benchmark; and
   6. (f) Release reports in accordance with RCW 70.390.070.

[ 2024 c 80 s 2; 2020 c 340 s 5.]