HB 5042 Summary

• Establishes an Office of Health Strategy within the Department of Public Health, headed by a Governor-appointed executive director responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive state health care cost containment strategy

• Requires the executive director to set annual health care cost growth benchmarks and primary care spending targets by July 1, 2022 for calendar years 2021-2025, and develop health care quality benchmarks for 2022-2025

• Mandates annual reporting by payers and provider entities on health care expenditures, primary care spending percentages, and quality benchmark performance, with public reports due by March 31 each year starting in 2023

• Requires the executive director to identify payers and provider entities that exceed cost growth benchmarks or fail to meet primary care spending targets by May 1 annually, and may require them to participate in public hearings beginning June 30, 2023

• Directs the executive director to submit annual reports to the General Assembly's insurance and public health committees analyzing health care spending trends, quality performance, and recommending strategies to increase system efficiency