Issues
Saving the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council
Established in 1986, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) is an independent agency funded by the state whose mission is to help address rapidly rising health-care costs in Pennsylvania.
PHC4 helps keep health-care costs down by:
- Collecting, analyzing and providing public data on costs and quality of health care in Pennsylvania
- Studying access to health care
- Making recommendations about health-care insurance mandates
- Providing comparative information about health-care providers
- Providing information to health-care providers, so they can make better decisions on ways to improve cost and quality.
Better information helps consumers, employees and businesses
To make informed health-care decisions, Pennsylvania employers and families must have accurate and useful data upon which to base their choices-PHC4's data and analysis make thoughtful decision-making possible. In fact, the agency is considered a national model in bringing transparency to health-care information.
The Council collects over 4.5 million inpatient hospital discharge and ambulatory/outpatient procedure records each year from hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers in Pennsylvania. This data, which includes hospital charge and treatment information, as well as other financial data, is collected on a quarterly basis and is then verified by PHC4. The Council also collects data from managed care plans on a voluntary basis.
The Council shares this data with the public through free public reports. Since its creation, PHC4 has published hundreds public reports about health care in Pennsylvania. These reports are widely distributed, and can be found on the PHC4's website, and in most public libraries throughout the state. The Council has also produced hundreds of customized reports and data sets through its Special Requests division for a wide variety of users including policy-makers, researchers, physicians, hospitals, insurers and others.
Better information keeps costs down and saves jobs
Pennsylvania employers who purchase commercial health-care insurance coverage for employees pay more than $16 billion per year. Each 1 percent increase represents an additional $160 million for employers. PHC4 is critical to ensuring that employers have the information that they need to try to control these ever increasing costs-costs that can mean the difference in being able to offer insurance, hire new workers or even staying in business.
The good news is that PHC4's charter includes a strong provision to ensure that businesses' needs are heard in its operations.
Agency to expire June 2009
The law that created PHC4 expired in June 2008, but Gov. Ed Rendell temporarily reauthorized the agency via executive orders through June 2009. Legislation (S.B. 89) to reauthorize the Council was unanimously passed by the state Senate on March 24 and is now being considered by the state House.
Especially now, when soaring health-care costs threaten all aspects of our health-care system-cost, quality, and access-it is more important than ever that PHC4 continue to provide the best information possible to purchasers of health insurance.
PHC4 helps all in the quest to restrain costs and improve the quality of health care. By working together, exchanging ideas and sharing data, we can meet our common goal of providing employers, workers and families with access to effective and affordable health care.
