Transparency in health care spending is moving significantly closer, thanks to a supplemental budget appropriation (Senate Bill 236) approved by the General Assembly in June and signed into law by Governor John Carney. The bill provides for the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) to receive $2 million in general funds through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for meeting a series of milestones for the Health Care Claims Database:
- Making initial data sets available by Oct. 31.
- Submitting a total budget (all funds) no later than Oct. 31 to several government agencies.
- Updating the status of the claims database by March 1, 2019
Under the legislation, insurers operating in Delaware must submit claims data for inclusion in the database. In turn, the state plans to use DHIN, to the fullest extent possible, in calculating health care spending benchmarks targets for provider groups. In August, Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker submitted her recommendations to Governor Carney for establishing health care spending and quality benchmarks in Delaware for 2019.
Here’s the link to the legislation:
http://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?legislationId=26796
