In the context of the current national dialog about health care and reform, states are trying to better understand and control healthcare costs and utilization. Over the past five years, at least twelve (12) states have enacted legislation and/or started to collect healthcare claims data from commercial and public payers in an effort to establish all-payer claims databases (APCDs). These data are being analyzed to understand patterns and trends of healthcare use and costs. These databases hold the potential for a much deeper understanding of quality and cost of care across populations. The source of the data is from healthcare billing systems that process claims for private and public payers. In addition, some states are developing methods to capture data for uninsured individuals.
