ONC finds many states use similar program data

A number of states use health and social program eligibility and enrollment data that are similar enough that they could be a foundation for sharing information by electronic health insurance exchanges, according to an analysis by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

Certain pieces of information that states collect, such as name, address and gender, are close enough in definition and format that they could be easily unified as common data elements, said Dr. Doug Fridsma, acting director of ONC's office of standards and interoperability. Common data elements and technical standards are needed to share information across health and human service programs to support the development of state insurance exchanges in 2014, a requirement of this year's health reform legislation. Under the law, the exchanges must electronically direct individuals to Medicaid services, high risk pools and other public and private health plans as millions more Americans become eligible for health insurance. But the task will require a significant amount of back-end engineering by states to link the relevant databases. The federal government is trying to assist them by leading a push for common eligibility and enrollment data standards.