Healthcare Cost Growth Benchmarking

Connecticut hospitals and health systems are committed to reducing costs and making sure healthcare is affordable and accessible to everyone.

The Benchmarking Process

The Governor created the healthcare cost growth benchmark via executive order in 2020 as part of ongoing efforts to promote healthcare affordability and access. The legislature codified the benchmark program in 2022. Hospitals have been at the table since the benchmark was created, seeking to ensure that the process results in improvements in affordability and incorporates the changing nature of healthcare delivery in our state – the migration of care from the inpatient setting to the outpatient/community setting.

Problems in the Process

At the core of making the process work is the ability to share and analyze data so that policy and care delivery changes essential to the success of the benchmark can be implemented. Transparent, replicable, and reliable data and analytics are essential. Unfortunately, that is not the case in today’s benchmarking process. Despite attempts by healthcare providers and hospitals to work collaboratively with the Office of Health Strategy to improve the data process, Connecticut has not been able to achieve a process in which stakeholders can have confidence.

CHA continues to advocate for a transparent data process for accurately accessing performance against the benchmark. Benchmarks must be reasonable and reflect – not ignore – the impact of inflation, and implementation must be based on sound and accurate data and should focus on the entirety of the healthcare spending landscape, including factors such as chronic underpayment by the state Medicaid program.

Harmful proposals to implement penalties for non-attainment of the annual benchmark and government-imposed price controls on healthcare providers are an out-of-step approach to building a healthcare delivery system in Connecticut that benefits both patients and the state’s economy.