Background and WA-APCD legislation

In 2014, the Washington State Legislature enacted the all-payer statute (Chapter 43.371 RCW) directing the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM) to establish the WA-APCD.

Goals of the WA-APCD:

• Help patients, providers, and hospitals make informed choices about health care.
• Enable providers, hospitals, and communities to improve and measure performance by focusing on best practices.
• Enable purchasers to identify value, build expectations into their purchasing strategy, and reward improvements over time.
• Promote competition based on quality and cost.

WA-APCD funding comes from Federal Rate Review and State Innovation Model grants. These grants help states improve price transparency in health care and work with stakeholders to transform the delivery of health and human services. In January 2020, HCA became the WA-APCD program administrator. 

Several other states operate all-payer programs and more are in the process of implementing them. Learn more from the national APCD Council

Rulemaking

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) developed rules to implement the WA-APCD. HCA is responsible for developing and finalizing additional rules. View the rulemaking introduction for more information. 

Governance Committees

WA-APCD stakeholders provide input on data policy and release processes through two committees detailed in the WA-APCD statute (43.371.020):

• The Data Policy Advisory Committee provides input on how data are collected and maintained.
• The Data Release Advisory Committee provides input on data-release policies and protocols. 

Committee members include representatives from:

• Key providers.
• Hospitals.
• Public health.
• State agencies.
• Health maintenance organizations.
• Purchasers.
• Consumer stakeholder groups.
• The two largest insurance carriers submitting data to the WA-APCD.
• The third-party administrator of Washington's Uniform Medical Plan for public employees.

HCA convenes a state agency coordination group to ensure the WA-APCD meets the needs of state agencies and other data users. This supports the database and related agency programs. The group consists of state agencies with related data needs and the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.