Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council

is an independent state agency responsible for addressing the problem of escalating health costs, ensuring the quality of health care, and increasing access for all citizens regardless of ability to pay.

Please be advised of the following changes: the Education Committee meeting originally scheduled for September 8, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. will not be held. The Executive Committee meeting has been rescheduled for September 8, 2010 at 12:00 p.m.

Chronic Health Conditions in Pennsylvania

This new PHC4 report on chronic diseases serves as a periodic update on the state of health care in Pennsylvania. It focuses on four common and costly chronic conditions – diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart failure – and covers the period from 2004 to 2008.

The report includes in-depth information on hospitalizations for these four conditions, including data on hospitalization rates, readmissions and Medicare payments. The purpose of this report is to provide information about the burden of these illnesses and insights as to where prevention efforts can be directed.

Request for Information - Third-party Vendor Qualifications for the Submission of Laboratory Data

Public Comments on the Collection of Laboratory Data

At its March 4, 2010 meeting, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council voted to continue the collection of laboratory data from PA hospitals to be used as part of the Council’s risk-adjustment methodology. On March 20, 2010 the Council entered into a 30-day public comment period to solicit input on potential implementation approaches as they relate to the continued collection of the lab data. The public comment period ended on April 20, 2010. A summary of the comments and copies of the comment letters received in response to the public comment notice are now available.