The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) is an independent state agency. Established in 1986, it is made up of twenty-one council members, one Executive Director and forty-five staff members. PHC4's primary responsibility is to address the rapidly growing health care costs in Pennsylvania. In an effort to contain health care costs, the agency:

Collects, analyzes and provides public data on costs and quality of health care in Pennsylvania;
Studies health care access issues;
Makes recommendations about proposed and/or existing health care mandates;
Provides comparative information about health care providers; and
Provides information to providers, so they can make informed decisions on ways to improve cost and quality.

As purchasers of health care, Pennsylvania's employer community has a strong reliance on the information created and provided by PHC4. With health care costs continuing to rise on an annual basis, PHC4 plays a vital role in the collective effort to control costs by collecting and sharing information with the purchasers of insurance products and the providers of health care and health insurance. Pennsylvania employers who commercially insure to provide health care coverage pay a minimum of $16 billion per year. Each 1% increase represents a minimum of $160 million for employers. PHC4 is critical to ensuring that employers have the information that they need to try to control these ever increasing costs.

Act 3 of 2009 extended the Council's charter through 2014, and requires the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to issue a report to the legislature in 2013 on the Council's management and performance.

For more information, visit the PHC4 website at http://www.phc4.org/default.htm

Related Information

• Press Release on PHC4 Reauthorization – June 11, 2009
• Memo to House Health and Human Services Committee in support of PHC4 reauthorization
• (PDF) PA Chamber letter to General Assembly urging PHC4 reauthorization