California wanted to make its Health Care Payments Database (HPD) more useful to researchers, policymakers, and health care stakeholders.

The Health Care Payments Database (HPD) is California's All Payer Claims Database (APCD). It collects health care claims and encounter data from California payers to:

• Increase health care cost transparency
• Inform policy decisions on quality care provision
• Support efforts to reduce health care costs and disparities 
• Drive innovative, cost-effective health care solutions

The California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) aims to expand the HPD's comprehensiveness by improving data quality, volume, and variety over time, enhancing its value for policymakers, researchers, and health care system stakeholders.

NORC has partnered with HCAI to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of the HPD data and data products.

NORC leveraged its expertise in health care data analytics to perform a variety of services for HCAI, including: 

• Collecting information from various stakeholders to create analytic products using the HPD that addresses stakeholder needs

• Conducting multiple analyses to display the valuable applications the HPD has to both federal and state agencies

• Providing recommendations to help improve the quality and completeness of the HPD 

• Creating HPD data specific documentation as a guide for other HPD users