Onpoint Begins Work as Maryland’s New APCD Vendor

March 2022 – Following a competitive procurement in late 2021, the state of Maryland selected Onpoint Health Data to take over data management and analytic services for the state’s all-payer claims database (APCD), the Maryland Medical Care Data Base (MCDB). Onpoint’s services encompass data collection, validation, and enhancement of enrollment and insurance claims file submissions for 5.5 million insured Marylanders and supporting an array of analytic deliverables, including the launch of a new business intelligence reporting solution and transition of the state’s “Wear the Cost“ public-facing website.

Following a fast-paced, collaborative transition-in from the state’s prior vendor, Onpoint has been working closely with staff from the MCDB’s operating agency, the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC), and other supporting vendors to rapidly resume operations and provide the state with reliable data products and analytics. “Onpoint has really hit the ground running,” notes Ben Steffen, MHCC Executive Director. “We are rapidly integrating Onpoint’s expertise into MHCC’s multi-vendor data infrastructure. Our first priority for Onpoint is to accelerate the acquisition and reconciliation of commercial claim and encounter information, which are essential for monitoring Maryland’s performance under the Total Cost of Care Model and other state health reform initiatives. Onpoint has launched an aggressive transition process that is well-aligned with Maryland’s ambitious goals.”

Maryland’s APCD is a multi-agency and multi-team initiative. Onpoint is providing data management and analytic services to support MHCC’s state partners, including the Health Services Cost Review Commission, the Maryland Medicaid Program, the Maryland Insurance Administration, the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, and Prescription Drug Affordability Board, and previously contracted private sector data partners. Onpoint will be working closely with Maryland’s health information exchange, the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP), which will continue to provide master patient and provider index services, and Signify Health, which will continue generating episodes of care results for the “Wear the Cost” website.

Onpoint’s progress to date has included the onboarding of 34 submitters to the state’s new data integration platform, integrating data, standing up a new Analytic Enclave, transitioning the state’s price transparency website to a new environment, updating the state’s privately insured reporting, and training the state’s end users on the tools and technologies supporting the APCD program. With Q1/2022 data submissions arriving this month, our team is excited to begin integrating the latest data and putting it into the state’s – and public’s – hands.

To learn more about the Maryland Medical Care Data Base and its important work, click here. And visit the state’s “Wear the Cost“ website to explore the currently available data and future updates.

Figure 1. The Maryland APCD’s “Wear the Cost” Website