More states will adopt state healthcare cost growth benchmarking, researchers say

States that benchmark their healthcare cost growth improve transparency, strengthen primary care and boost alternative payment models, according to a new report.

Eight states have implemented or are developing the regulatory and data gathering infrastructure to track annual healthcare cost growth, and more are expected to follow suit. Standardizing how those benchmarks are created and measured could lower the barrier of entry for other states and lift efforts to curb healthcare cost inflation, a new report from Manatt Health found.

“Benchmarking provides regulators and policymakers the tools to do their jobs effectively and has been increasingly used to advance local priorities like primary care and behavioral health,” said Kevin McAvey, a director at Manatt and co-author of the report.

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