Data can serve as an extremely powerful tool to set governors’ priorities and inform their decision-making. State leaders are in a unique position to use data to create policies that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the health care system to drive broad-reaching transformation. For example, by collecting and analyzing health care system data from multiple sources, including Medicaid claims, behavioral health, public health, corrections and housing data, as well as data from state health information exchanges, states can better understand the characteristics and health issues of populations with high needs and costs, for whom the current system is falling short. Those insights can help transform how care is provided to these individuals dramatically improving their health outcomes while significantly reducing costs. In addition, some states have created data dashboards, which allow governors and state policymakers to quickly view their own progress on key state health care measures and priorities. The NGA Center is working with states to increase data collection and analysis to inform policymaking.
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