Healthcare Benchmark Initiative

Connecticut doctor

Improving health, reducing costs

The Healthcare Benchmark Initiative plays a key role in improving the health of CT residents. It helps:
  • All residents access affordable, high-quality healthcare
  • Enhance spending on primary care, allowing for creative solutions to address healthcare needs
  • The state lower healthcare spending growth

About the initiative

The Healthcare Benchmark Initiative involves people from across the healthcare landscape to create a healthcare cost growth benchmark. The initiative provides data to legislators and policymakers to improve healthcare quality and spending in Connecticut.

These efforts focus on:
  • Setting annual healthcare cost growth targets for 2021-2025
  • Increasing primary care spending as a percentage of total healthcare expenditure, with a goal of of 10% by 2025
  • Providing healthcare quality benchmarks for all public and private payers
  • Reporting healthcare spending growth
  • Monitoring care organizations and different payment models
Save the date

Healthcare Benchmark Initiative Informational Public Hearing

When it comes to health and healthcare, affordability matters to all of us. Explore the impact of healthcare costs on families and employers, our health providers and systems, commercial and public insurers and other key stakeholders through the video links and materials provided below.

Watch the entire morning session or tune in to specific panel discussions. 

Connecticut's performance relative to the healthcare cost growth benchmark, primary care spending target, and quality benchmarks

Featured panels:

Watch the afternoon session or tune it to specific discussions.

 

Setting Connecticut's cost and quality benchmarks and primary care spending target 2026-2030

Featured panels:

Additional Resources

DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION SLIDES (PDF)

Healthcare Benchmarks Initiative - Information Brief

Share your views

  • Opportunities to share your views in person may be available time permitting.
  • Written comments are also welcome by Monday, June 16, 2025 to be considered in the hearing. Post-hearing comments will be accepted through June 25, 2025.

Submit public comment in writing

View public comment submitted

 

Program resources

Public hearing agendas are posted at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. Transcripts and recordings are posted within seven days of the hearing.

Cost growth benchmark public hearings 

Attend these meetings to learn about projects and to share your views as permitted.

Quality benchmarks public hearings 

Learn about upcoming meetings and watch past presentations.

Data Transparency 

Discover the data behind the policy solutions to the state's healthcare challenges.

HCBI Quality Benchmarks 

Explore clinical quality, patient safety, consumer experience, and over-and under-utilization measures.

Guidance for Payers and Providers 

Review technical and operational procedures that payers and providers must follow for data reporting and collection.

Reports and updates 

Read Healthcare Benchmark Initiative reports and findings.

Submit comments 

Email your thoughts about any scheduled or recent hearing topic. They can become part of the public record.
icon

Legislation

Governor Lamont signed Executive Order #5 in January, 2020, charging the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) to benchmark total healthcare expenditures growth in the state. During the 2022 legislative session, C.G.S. §217-223 of Public Act 22-118 essentially codified Executive Order No. 5’s provision into law. OHS carried out the initiative with the support of a Technical Team as the key deliberating body and a Stakeholder Advisory Board.

Healthcare Benchmark Initiative reports

Reports

Healthcare Benchmark Initiative Leadership

Steering Committee 

The Healthcare Benchmark Initiative Steering Committee includes senior stakeholders, subject matter experts, state agency executives, and consumer advocates who advise on healthcare cost growth, quality and primary care spending.

Quality Council 

The Quality Council includes local and regional stakeholders who provide guidance on a core set of clinical quality, patient safety, consumer experience and over- and under-utilization benchmarks and measures.

Technical Team 

The Technical Team is comprised of a team of experts in healthcare economics, health policy and related fields who work collaboratively to set healthcare cost growth and primary care spending benchmarks for the next five years, 2026-2030.

 

Data Analytics Workgroup 

The Data Analytics Workgroup advises on data driven strategies to reduce healthcare cost growth in the state. 

Cost growth benchmark values

The technical team recommended that the cost growth benchmark use a 20/80 weighting of the growth in CT potential gross state product and the growth of CT median income. The resulting value of the benchmark was 2.9%. The 2024 target was adjusted to 4.0% due to the impact of inflation. The 2025 target will remain at 2.9%. Each year the Commissioner evaluates the impact of inflation to determine if a change to the benchmark target is warranted.

2021 (Base Value + 0.5%): 3.4%

2022 (Base Value + 0.3%): 3.2%

2023 (Base Value): 2.9%

2024 (Base Value + Inflation Adjustment): 4.0%

2025 (Base Value): 2.9%

Primary care spending target

Connecticut targets increasing primary care spending as a percentage of total health care expenditure to 10% by 2025.

Calendar year 2021: 5.0%

Calendar year 2022: 5.3%

Calendar year 2023: 6.9%

Calendar year 2024: 8.5%

Calendar year 2025: 10.0%

2022-2025 Quality benchmark measures

Quality Benchmark Measure
Asthma Medication Ratio

Steward 1
NCQA

Description
Percentage of patients 5–64 years of age who were identified as having persistent asthma and had a ratio of controller medications to total asthma medications of 0.50 or greater during the measurement year

Levels of Measurement
State, Market, Payer, Advanced Network


Quality Benchmark Measure
Controlling High Blood Pressure

Steward 1
NCQA

Description
Percentage of patients 18 to 85 years of age who had a diagnosis of hypertension and whose blood pressure was adequately controlled (<140/90 mmHg) during the measurement year

Levels of Measurement
State, Market, Payer, Advanced Network


Quality Benchmark Measure
Glycemic Status Assessment for Patients with Diabetes (formerly Hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] Control for Patients with Diabetes: HbA1c Poor Control)

Steward 1
NCQA

Description
Percentage of patients 18-75 years of age with diabetes (types 1 and 2) whose most recent glycemic status (hemoglobin a1c [HbA1c] or glucose management indicator [GMI]) was >9.0% during the measurement year.

Levels of Measurement
State, Market, Payer, Advanced Network
Quality Benchmark Measure
Child and Adolescent WellCare Visits

Steward 1
NCQA

Description
Percentage of members 3–21 years of age who had at least one comprehensive well-care visit with a primary care provider or an OB/GYN practitioner during the measurement year

Levels of Measurement
State, Market, Payer, Advanced Network


Quality Benchmark Measure
Follow-up After Emergency Department (ED) Visit for Mental Illness (7-day)

Steward 1
NCQA

Description
Percentage of ED visits for members 6 years of age and older with a principal diagnosis of mental illness or intentional self-harm, who had a follow-up visit for mental illness within 7 days of the ED visit

Levels of Measurement
State, Market, Payer, Advanced Network


Quality Benchmark Measure
Follow-up After Hospitalization Visit for Mental Illness (7-day)

Steward 1
NCQA

Description
Percentage of discharges for members 6 years of age and older who were hospitalized for treatment of selected mental health disorders and who had an outpatient visit, an intensive outpatient encounter, or partial hospitalization with a mental health practitioner within 7 days of discharge

Levels of Measurement
State, Market, Payer, Advanced Network


Quality Benchmark Measure
Obesity Equity Measure

Steward 1
CT OHS (using data from BRFSS)

Description
A ratio of statewide obesity rates for the Black, non-Hispanic population and the White, non-Hispanic population

Levels of Measurement
State