Plaintalk Blog

Health care costs are rising rapidly across the country, and Colorado is not exempt – a previous analysis using data from the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD) found that cost of care in our state increased by 13% from 2013 to 2019. To address rising costs, there are Read more…

Prescription drug spending is a leading contributor to rising health care costs across the United States. Increasingly, consumers, medical professionals, insurers, legislators, and other stakeholders are identifying rising prescription drug costs as a priority to address health care spending. According to a study released earlier this year, three in four Read more…

CIVHC’s Affordability Dashboard has an updated Low Value Care analysis which identifies health care services that are often costly, do not improve health, and can in some instances cause harm. The analysis, which evaluated 48 potentially low value services — including certain treatments, diagnostic tests, and screenings — found that Read more…

Outpatient services continues to be one of the biggest health care cost drivers Health care costs in Colorado and across the nation are increasing at a rapid pace, continuing to make care unaffordable for many people. A key to addressing health care affordability is understanding where health care dollars are Read more…

As Administrator of the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD), one of CIVHC’s key responsibilities is ensuring the database is as complete and accurate as possible. One of the ways we work towards this goal is through annual updates to the Data Submission Guide (DSG) in collaboration with the Read more…

In January 2022, CIVHC release an update to the Shop for Care tool. The tool empowers users to shop for the most affordable and highest quality care by comparing cost and quality information for over 100 procedures at over 53 named facilities across Colorado using data in the Colorado All Read more…

Collecting reliable, standardized, high-quality data on race and ethnicity is a challenge administrators of All Payer Claims Databases across the country have grappled with for years. However, all agree that incorporating data on race and ethnicity is essential to identifying health inequities across communities, providing insights for solutions and interventions, Read more…

CIVHC’s Community Dashboard is a powerful tool that provides Colorado communities with information to understand how various aspects of health care in their region — including costs, utilization, and access — compare to state and other county results. Including claims from a majority of the insured lives represented in the Read more…

This is the fourth in a series of blogs about what exactly is in the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD). Today we’re looking at one of the most fundamental claims we receive – the pharmacy claim. Pharmacy claims include basic information about what drug(s) you received, the type Read more…