Transparency Efforts

NH HealthCost™:  This free website uses actual, anonymous paid health insurance claims data from the NHCHIS (see below) to show cost estimates for health care procedures at facilities across the state. It shows people the total costs of their procedures, including physician fees, lab fees, and facility fees, based on their insurance company, deductible, and co-insurance. Uninsured residents can also see how much they will need to pay out of pocket for medical costs. The site features:

• Cost estimates for:
  • More than 100 medical tests and procedures
  • More than two dozen dental procedures
  • More than a dozen prescription drugs
• Searchable quality measures for NH hospitals, including patient experience, infection prevention, and more.
• A Guide to Health Insurance to help consumers navigate the system and manage costs.

Auto and Homeowners Insurance Premium Comparisons: Consumers can use these tools to comparison-shop for a homeowners or personal automobile insurance policy. The Department has created these tools using premium values provided by the state’s top 35 insurance carriers for several different hypothetical risk situations, evaluated in a group of nine different geographic territories from around the state.

Annual Hearing on Health Insurance Premiums: The Department is required by state law to hold an annual hearing on health insurance premiums and health care cost drivers. The Annual Report on Medical Cost Drivers presented at each hearing is generated using data collected from insurance companies. It examines premium trends by insurance market and identifies how much of the change is due to the number of services received by patients, increases in the price of care, changes to health insurance benefits, and profits retained by insurance companies. The hearing is held each November.

New Hampshire Comprehensive Health Information System (NHCHIS): is a public resource that includes detailed health insurance claims data going back to 2005. These data allow a range of users to better understand health care costs and utilization in New Hampshire, as intended when the statute creating the database was enacted.

Provider Payment Reform: The Department has undertaken multiple initiatives aimed at helping to lower health care costs (and thus, insurance premiums) in the state:

• An analysis of stakeholder views.
• An analysis of the legal issues  associated with payment reform approaches.
• A report of independent recommendations for New Hampshire.
• The NHID hosted a public event in 2015  with insurance company and provider panel discussions to discuss the findings.

Special Analytic Studies: The Department periodically performs special analytic studies to provide insightful information about health care cost drivers, our insurance markets, and policy options. These analyses are used primarily to inform policymakers and industry leaders, but are available to the public on our reports page. Studies include: substance use disorder claims analyses, the cost of health insurance mandates , child vaccine use  and the assessment to fund vaccines, hospital “cost shifting” and the impact on the private insurance, the health insurance costs associated with aging of the NH population , cost trends associated with increasing cesarean-section rates, ambulance payment levels, and the relative cost of various hospitals.