Karen Groh, president and CEO of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed to the Payment Data Advisory Group (PDAG), a council committee under the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4).
Groh, who currently serves as vice chair of PHC4, will join other experts on the PDAG to advise on issues surrounding the collection and reporting of health care payment data in Pennsylvania.
PHC4, an independent state agency, is dedicated to addressing the growing cost of health care in Pennsylvania. It was originally formed in 1986 and was reauthorized via a 2020 legislative action addressing health care cost containment to collect, analyze, and publish data on the cost and quality of health care in the state.
Collected data includes hospital charge and treatment information, as well as other financial data, from inpatient hospital discharges and ambulatory/outpatient procedure records from hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers in Pennsylvania.
“It is an honor to serve on this advisory group as one of the biggest expenses for employers is health care benefits for their employees,” Groh stated. “Being able to participate will allow for a better understanding of costs and the voice to express the burden on employers”
Groh also serves on the advisory group for PENNIE (Pennsylvania Insurance Exchange), Pennsylvania’s official health insurance marketplace, which enables eligible individuals to purchase private health insurance coverage at federally subsidized rates.
The Payment Data Advisory Group is legislatively tasked with producing recommendations related to the collection, analysis, and public reporting of payment data. The position on the advisory group is unpaid, although expenses are reimbursed.
Since its inception, PHC4 has published hundreds of public reports about health care in the state, funded through the Pennsylvania state budget and revenue from the sale of its data to health care stakeholders.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misstated the year PHC4 was formed. We sincerely regret the error.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
