All Payer Database

Background

In 2011, New York State passed legislation authorizing the creation of an All Payer Database (APD). The complexities of the health care system as well as lack of comparative data on how services are accessed, provided, and paid for were the driving force behind this legislation. The APD is to serve as a key data and analytical resource for policy makers and researchers.

In 2016, the New York State Department of Health (the Department) secured a warehousing and analytics vendor, issued proposed regulations, and began the implementation of the APD.

The APD is developing new capabilities within the Department, including more advanced and comprehensive analytics to support decision making, policy development, and research, while also enhancing data security by protecting patient privacy through encryption and de-identification of potentially identifying information.

The APD provides the Department with a comprehensive picture of health care being provided to New Yorkers by supporting consumer transparency needs regarding quality, safety, and costs of care. The systematic integration of technology and the weaving of previously fragmented data sources has created a key resource to support data analyses that address health care trends, needs, improvements, and opportunities.

All Payer Database Guidance Manual (PDF)

APD Components

The APD consists of three main components:

Data Intake and Acquisition Warehousing Analytics & Release
  • Encounters
  • Member Coverage
  • Provider
  • FFS Claims
  • Reference Files
  • Non-Claims-Based Data
  • Master Patient Index
  • Master Provider Index
  • Data Enrichments
  • Limited Identifiable
  • Public User Files

APD Data

The All-Payer Database contains data from varying sources. The APD currently includes health plan enrollment data, claims and encounter data, provider data, hospital discharge data, and vital statistics mortality data.

APD data sources include hospital discharge data (SPARCS), vital statistics mortality data, Qualified Health Plan (QHP) enrollment and encounter data, Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) enrollment and encounter data, Essential Plan (EP) enrollment and encounter data, Child Health Plus (CHP) enrollment and encounter data, Medicaid Fee-for-Service (FFS) and Medicare Fee-for-Service data. The integration also includes Provider Network Data System (PNDS) and other provider data. In 2020, the APD began collecting data from commercial off-exchange health plans on a mandatory basis, and from self-funded commercial health plans governed by the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) on a voluntary basis.

NYS Health Connector

The APD's public-facing website, the NYS Health Connector, launched on May 16, 2018. The NYS Health Connector provides multiple data dashboards as a resource for consumers, researchers, and the general public.