Resources

The Health Care Cost Transparency Board’s (Cost Board’s) work is to ensure health care affordability for all people in Washington.

As a part of our cost-containment efforts, the Cost Board publishes reports, articles, and briefs on health care costs.

This library also contains national reports, publications, and articles on health care costs as well as resources from other states examining health care costs.

Cost Board

Reports

• Health care spending growth in Washington, 2017–2019 and report summary (June 2024)
• 2023 annual report to the Legislature (September 2023).
• 2022 annual report to the Legislature (October 2022).

Reports prepared for the Cost Board

• Washington Hospital Financial Analysis (July 2024), prepared by Bartholomew & Nash.

About the Cost Board

• About the Cost Board one-pager (August 2024).
• Cost Board FAQ (August 2024).
• Cost Board charter and operating procedures (February 2021).

Articles featuring the Cost Board

• To Transparency and Beyond: Snapshots of States Using Cost Growth Targets to Improve Health Care Affordability (May 2024). The Cost Board is featured in this case study from the Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs.
• Video: Inside Olympia - Health Care Cost Transparency Board (March 2024). Board members Sue Birch and Eileen Cody were interviewed on Inside Olympia on TVW.
• Health care costs are increasing, but there’s a way out (February 2024). This op-ed was written by Sue Birch, chair of the Cost Board and director of the Health Care Authority, and Drew Oliveira, executive director of the Washington Health Alliance.

Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey (CHESS)

View the Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey (CHESS) results for Washington, which includes these reports:

• Washington Residents Bear Health Care Affordability Burdens Unequally; Distrust of/Disrespect by Health Care Providers Leads Some to Delay/Go Without Needed Care (August 2023)
• Washington Residents Worry About High Drug Costs; Support a Range of Government Solutions (November 2022)
• Washington Residents Struggle to Afford High Healthcare Costs; Worry About Affording Healthcare in the Future; Support Government Action Across Party Lines (November 2022)

Other states' cost-containment efforts

• View the Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey (CHESS) state data briefs.
• Watch the video A State-Led Approach to Improving the Affordability of Health Care from the Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs, which supports state-led efforts to make health care more affordable for everyone.