Summary

The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) is an independent philanthropy dedicated to advancing measurable improvements in the health care delivery system for the people of California, particularly those with low incomes and those not well served by the status quo.

CHCF has created a $1 million affordability research funding pool for researchers interested in using California’s new Healthcare Payments Database (HPD) to study consumer affordability challenges or systemwide cost drivers or both in the state. Up to $500,000 of this funding will be awarded in spring 2025 and up to $500,000 will be awarded in spring 2026. This RFP is intended to identify an initial set of up to five grantees for awards that will be announced in March 2025.

Initial award decisions will be made by CHCF but not finalized until projects have been separately and formally approved by the HPD Data Release Committee of the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). Awards may be used to offset HPD data fees and grantee research time. Applicants should plan to use dissemination channels outside CHCF’s traditional publication pipeline (e.g., peer-reviewed journal submission, non-CHCF issue brief) for the results of their work.

This funding pool does not preclude funding of additional projects utilizing HPD or other data sources that CHCF may consider and fund through its programmatic work.

Project Background

The Healthcare Payments Database (HPD) is California’s all-payer claims database, or APCD. The HPD is a research database composed of health care administrative data, including claims and encounter data generated by transactions among payers and providers on behalf of insured individuals.

California’s HPD includes billions of claim and encounter records submitted from California payers, including Medi-Cal managed care plans. The most recent year of data includes claims and encounters for 35.4 million Californians, including 13.5 million Medi-Cal enrollees.

There is a well-defined set of criteria, policies, and procedures for access to and release of nonpublic HPD data. Users can apply for access to a secure data enclave with statistical tools (e.g., SQL, SAS, Stata, R, Python) and processes for linking to external data sets.

The application process for research access to nonpublic HPD data opened on December 16, 2024. Applications will be reviewed by HCAI, the California Department of Health Care Services, and a data release committee made up of subject matter experts representing key stakeholder groups.

California Healthcare Payments Database Affordability Research Fund

CHCF has created a $1 million affordability research funding pool for researchers interested is using California’s new HPD to study consumer affordability challenges or systemwide cost drivers or both in the state. Up to $500,000 of this funding will be awarded in spring 2025 and up to $500,000 will be awarded in spring 2026.

Initial award decisions will be made by CHCF but not finalized until projects have been separately and formally approved by HCAI’s HPD Data Release Committee. Awards may be used to offset HPD data fees and grantee research time. Applicants should plan to use dissemination channels outside CHCF’s traditional publication pipeline (e.g., peer-reviewed journal submission, non-CHCF issue brief) for the results of their work.

CHCF welcomes applications from a broad group of researchers, including those who are earlier in their careers, those who self-identify with a demographic group currently underrepresented in health services research, and those who research interests include health care affordability challenges among historically disadvantaged groups.

This funding pool does not preclude funding of additional projects utilizing HPD or other data sources that CHCF may consider and fund through its programmatic work.

Proposal Packet

Those interested should include the following materials in the proposal packet:

1. Proposal cover sheet (available at http://www.chcf.org/grantinfo/solicited). This does not count toward the five-page limit.
2. Proposal narrative. The proposal narrative should be no more than five pages of text, single-spaced, in a 12-point font. Applicants are expected to honor the space limitations. The proposal narrative should describe:
   • Overall project design and approach. In your proposal, please describe your key research question(s), analysis plan, and potential dissemination channel (e.g., manuscript for consideration in a peer-reviewed journal, non-CHCF issue brief). Key questions to address include:
     • What research question(s) does your project intend to answer?
     • What, if any, related research has already been published related to your proposed research question(s)?
     • Which specific data elements from the HPD (and other linked sources, if applicable) will be used in your analysis? (The HPD uses the APCD Common Data Layout for claims and encounter data submission.)
     • What analytic plan or statistical methodology will be employed to answer your research questions?
     • How do you expect the results of your research to contribute to the field of health services research or health policymaking related to consumer affordability challenges or systemwide health care cost drivers or both?
3. Appendices. Appendices do not count toward the five-page limit.
   • Brief bio-sketch or CV. Include a brief bio-sketch or CV for all key team members.
   • Budget form and budget narrative description. Please submit a detailed budget and budget narrative for the entire length of the project. Line item and time/material budget forms are available at http://www.chcf.org/grantinfo/solicited/.
   • Links to sample written work product, if available.

Proposal Submission

Proposals must be delivered using the submission form below, no later than noon Pacific Standard Time on Friday, February 14, 2025. If there are technical issues, proposals should be emailed in one PDF file to Diana Banki, program associate. See PDF for contact information. Hard copies will not be accepted.

Selection Criteria

The review committee will use the following criteria to assess proposals:

• Methodological soundness of proposed project design and approach
• Potential relevance of results to the field of health services research or state policymaking
• Appropriateness of proposed budget and project timeline

CHCF will not provide individual critiques of proposals submitted. Initial award decisions will be made by CHCF but not finalized until projects have been separately and formally approved by HCAI’s HPD Data Release Committee.

For More Information

For questions about the project or the proposal submission process, contact Diana Banki.