The Maine Health Data Organization has, in accordance with Rule Chapter 120: Release of Data to the Public, instituted a process for the purpose of notifying users and providers of health care data when the MHDO receives a request for health data and accepts that request. In addition to sending electronic notification to interested parties and to providers that are responsible for the submission of the data, we provide the summary page of the ten most recent data requests below. If you are interested in seeing requests prior to the last on this page, you will find them here: https://mhdo.maine.gov/dataRequests_Archived.htm
For all data requests, the data providers or other interested parties may submit comments related to the data request to the Executive Director. To be considered, comments must be received by the Executive Director in writing or by electronic notification no later than thirty business days after the initial posting of the data request on the MHDO web site. If the Executive Director determines that (a.) the comments received are of significant enough importance to delay the release of data and/or (b.) additional information is required from the requesting party to address the comments; then the data shall not be released until the additional information has been received from the requesting party and an additional review is conducted by the Executive Director or the MHDO Data Release Subcommittee, as applicable, to ensure that the requesting party conforms to all applicable requirements of this chapter.
The Executive Director will bring all comments received from the data providers and or other interested parties for the release of Level III Data to the MHDO Data Release Subcommittee for consideration.
Individuals who want to opt out of a specific Level III data request may do so by completing this MHDO Choice Disclosure Form no later than 30 business days after the initial posting of the data request. If you opt out of Level III data requests, you will remain opted out unless you choose to opt back in via completion of the MHDO Choice Disclosure Form.
NOTE: If you would like to be notified when new data requests are posted, please email your request.
| Request # | Requesting Party and Title | Affiliation | Date Posted | Comment Close Date | Specific Data Request | Purpose of Request Benefits to the Citizens of Maine Public Reporting Plans |
Released Denied Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025031901 | Ruby, Ray | Maine Cancer Foundation | 4/25/2025 | 6/9/2025 | MHDO Level II CY 2024 Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Encounter Data, Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Pharmacy Claims, Pharmacy Eligibility and Practitioner Identifiable Data including City/Zip, DOB, Race & Ethnicity, FIPS Codes, Integrated Cancer-Incidence Registry Data, Integrated Vital Statistics Death Data and MHDO De-Identified Person Directory. | This data request seeks to add additional years of MHDO data to previously approved data request number 2023022401. The Maine Cancer Foundation (MCF) used MHDO data to create Maine's first comprehensive Cancer Blueprint focusing on lung and bronchus cancer and then expanded to include colorectal cancer measures. The goal of the Maine Cancer Blueprint is to increase knowledge and awareness of issues related to cancer, expand access to care, and support lifestyle changes to reduce cancer risk by exploring inequities and variations in cancer rates, by examining factors that may influence cancer risk, and analyzing how factors such as social determinants of health, race, ethnicity, insurance status, and socio-economic status influence health outcomes. The current website can be found here https://mainecancer.org/maine-cancer-blueprint. The website provides credible, detailed data points that are publicly available to Maine clinical experts, residents and others who are interested in actionable statistics related to cancer in Maine. The MCF is moving on to the next phase of this project with the focus on updating existing measures and adding more detailed measures on breast cancer. The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) is supporting MCF with using the MHDO data for identifying and creating measures that will report variations in cancer incidence, mortality, cost, screening rates, and access to care across Maine. The dataset may be used for ad hoc reporting requests directed by an advisory group formed by the MCF and comprised of clinical and other public health experts. | |
| 2025031701 | Harrington, Karynlee, Executive Director | Maine Quality Forum | 4/25/2025 | 6/9/2025 | MHDO Level II Q1 2024 – Q4 2025 Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Pharmacy Claims, Pharmacy Eligibility and Practitioner Identifiable Data including City/ZIP, DOB, Payer Group ID, Payer Name/ID, and Anonymous Payer Name/ID. | Public Law 244, An Act to Establish Transparency in Primary Care Spending; and Public Law 603, An Act Regarding Reporting on Behavioral Health Care Services requires the Maine Quality Forum (MQF) to produce annual spending reports for primary care and behavioral health care services in Maine using data from the Maine Health Data Organization. This request updates the data time-period of the previously authorized data request numbers 2023060701 and 2024042901 by adding the two most recent CY data sets for 2024 and 2025. The report will include the percentage paid (claims and non-claims payments) as a percentage of the respective total medical expenditures for primary care and behavioral health care by commercial insurers, the MaineCare program, Medicare, and the State Employee Plan and the Maine Education Association Benefits Trust; as well as the average percentage of total medical expenditures paid for primary care and behavioral health care across all payors. The reports will be submitted in January 2026 and 2027 to the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health coverage and health insurance matters. Copies of most recent reports can be found here: https://mhdo.maine.gov/mqf.html. Purpose of Request/Benefits to the Citizens of Maine/Public Reporting Plans: Legislative mandate. | |
| 2024092501 | Anne Ponsor | MaineHealth | 4/1/2025 | 5/14/2025 | MHDO Level II Q1 2022- Q4 2025 Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Encounter Data, Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Pharmacy Claims, Pharmacy Eligibility including City/ZIP, Practitioner Identifiers, Anonymous Payer Name/ID, Integrated Vital Statistics Birth and Death data and Integrated Cancer-Incidence Registry Data. | This data request seeks to add additional years of MHDO data to previously approved data request number 2018062601. The Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO) data will be used to support MaineHealth’s mission to improve the health and well-being of communities across Maine by identifying opportunities to enhance outcomes, care coordination, and cost-effectiveness of services. MaineHealth will leverage MHDO data to develop and evaluate strategic plans, clinical service distribution, medical staff development and facility plans, Certificate of Need applications, and community health programming. The continuation of this data access is vital to maintaining longitudinal analyses that inform strategies aimed at improving care. Additionally, this data will support the hospital Implementation Plans required by the Affordable Care Act and in partnership with Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), a cross-state and multi-organization effort aimed at improving health outcomes for the citizens of Maine. For example, the 2022 CHNA forums identified Access to Care as a top priority for Cumberland County. In response to that priority, MaineHealth's Implementation Strategy was to "Ensure equitable access to care by supporting people with transportation and/or interpreter/translation services". To that end, MaineHealth increased video interpretation abilities at their care sites, and increased transportation support for patients. Data from the MHDO such as patient zip code and other demographic information are crucial to understand which strategies may be most effective. By leveraging demographic data such as zip codes, MaineHealth seeks to enhance access to care, increase quality, and ensure that services are close to home while addressing key public health concerns, including chronic conditions and social determinants of health. The MHDO Integrated Vital Statistics Birth and Death data are valuable data sources for understanding health care disparities in Maine due to individual poverty, regional poverty, and access to care. Using the MHDO Integrated Cancer-Incidence Registry data will be an incredibly powerful tool to understand relationships for malignancies in Maine, which are the second leading cause of death. The insights derived from MHDO data will directly benefit MaineHealth’s patients and communities by enabling evidence-based decision-making, fostering better outcomes, and aligning services with the needs of Maine’s population. Furthermore, these data will inform resource allocation decisions and strategic planning efforts, ensuring that MaineHealth can effectively address evolving healthcare challenges and improve health equity across the state. | |
| 2025010801 | Harakall, Maryann | ME CDC | 2/25/2025 | 4/8/2025 | MHDO Level II Q1 2023 – Q4 2025 Hospital Inpatient Encounter Data including City/ZIP, DOB, FIPS Code, Race & Ethnicity and Integrated Vital Statistics Birth and Death data | The Maine CDC Maternal and Child Health (MCH) program ensures the health of Maine’s birthing people, women, children, and youth, including children with special healthcare needs, and their families. The Maine CDC MCH epidemiologists propose using MHDO integrated vital statistics and inpatient hospital encounter data to conduct routine surveillance of key maternal and child health indicators, analyze risk and protective factors associated with preventable morbidity and mortality, and assess disparities by education, insurance type, race, ethnicity, age, and geography. MHDO’s integrated data set will help improve the understanding of the determinants of health and preventable morbidity and mortality in the MCH population. The results will enable Maine’s MCH leaders to conduct effective program planning, obtain federal funding, and make data-informed decisions to support the health and well-being of Maine’s MCH populations. | |
| 2024020903 | Tripp, Merica | Maine DHHS, Rural Health & Primary Care | 2/12/2025 | 3/27/2025 | Custom Level II MHDO Data Extract Q2 2023 – Q1 2024 Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Dental Claims, Dental Eligibility including City/ZIP, DOB, FIPS Codes and Practitioner Identifiable Data. | This data request seeks to add additional years of MHDO data (Q2 2023 – Q1 2024) to previously approved data request number 2018020501. This data will be used solely in support of the ME DHHS objectives related to their contracted work with JSI to provide "Health Professional Shortage Area Designation Assistance and Primary Care Workforce Data Management and Analysis". This work involves two separate but related components. 1) The evaluation, submission, & maintenance of federal Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations to the federal Health Resources and Services Admin, Bureau of Health Workforce. These designations, which cover medical, dental, & mental health professions, are dictated by federal regulations that govern how areas of need are identified and defined. HPSA designation provides access to a range of federal resources to support primary care access and provider workforce recruitment and retention in the designated areas. 2) To conduct a broad based and inclusive analysis of primary care workforce capacity and accessibility, and to examine the patient access patterns in support of service area definition. The claims data can be used in support of both objectives. For federal HPSA designation, the regulations establish that a certain number of Medicaid claims provided can be equated to a provider Full Time Equivalent (FTE) for use in the Population-to-Provider FTE ratio which determines eligibility. Beyond Medicaid, the other claims data classifications will help to validate the location of providers in the state overall-another federal requirement and a useful process for analysis overall. We will further use the analysis of patient origin town/zip, in combination with the destination (provider) town/zip to examine accessibility to primary care services in terms of drive time minutes for the population in the area, as well as the frequency of service utilization. Benefit to Citizens of Maine: Use of this data will result in more accurate and comprehensive analysis of HPSA eligibility and the definition of more representative service areas. The likelihood of obtaining or retaining HPSA designations will be increased, while the level of effort and accuracy of the data will be greatly decreased compared to the traditional process of surveying providers to obtain their estimated of hours and service to the Medicaid population. | |
| 2024121601 | Harakall, Maryann | ME CDC | 1/24/2025 | 3/10/2025 | MHDO Level II Q3 2024 – Q4 2025 Hospital Inpatient Encounter Data including City/ZIP, DOB, FIPS Code and Race & Ethnicity | This data request seeks to add an additional year of MHDO data to previously approved data request number 2023010301. In 2021 Maine received funds to become part of the National Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM). This ongoing initiative involves engaging hospitals in the implementation of patient safety bundles designed to improve the quality of health care provided to women around the time of pregnancy with the overall goal to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Currently, 49 US states are enrolled in the AIM initiative. As part of this initiative, states are asked to provide administrative data on severe maternal morbidity by hospital (de-identified) to monitor progress on QI efforts. Maine selected to focus on maternal hypertension as the state's first QI initiative. There are currently 20 Maine birthing hospitals currently participating in the project. Maine people will benefit from a data-driven approach to implementing best practices related to reducing maternal morbidity and improving care for pregnant people with severe hypertension. MHDO data will allow for ongoing monitoring of maternal morbidity to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of these evidence-based practices in Maine hospitals. | |
| 2024120601 | Trachimowicz, Gina | Maine Neonatology Associates | 1/2/2025 | 2/14/2025 | A subset of the MHDO CY 2023 Maine Surprise Billing Template, limited to the median allowed amounts for neonatal & newborn CPT codes, by zip code and rating area. | This data request seeks to add an additional year of MHDO data (CY 2023) to previously approved data request number 2023091501. Maine Neonatology Associates (MNA) is a group of specialists providing 24/7/365 newborn coverage and services within the NICU at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH) at Maine Medical Center (the only level 4 NICU in the state) and Mercy Northern Light Hospital. In 2021, the NICU at BBCH admitted approximately 1000 infants, showing it has the full market share of infants requiring specialized care in the state and region. MNA will utilize the MHDO data to create fair and honest fee structures that align with the intention of the No Surprises Act, aiming to avoid payment disputes and improve contract negotiations with out-of-network insurers. This will ultimately benefit many infants and families in Maine. | |
| 2024120401 | Manchester, Chloe Epidemiologist | Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention | 1/2/2025 | 2/14/2025 | MHDO Ad Hoc Request – Q1 2023 through Q2 2024 adult Hepatitis A & B vaccinations by Maine county. | This data request seeks to add an additional year of MHDO data to previously approved data request number 2023062801. Maine CDC Division of Infectious Disease Surveillance is requesting MHDO to produce aggregate data on adult hepatitis A and B vaccination administration across the state from Q1 2023 - Q2 2024 to better identify areas of low vaccine coverage and view trends over time. Vaccination records for adults are not widely available because there is no universal adult vaccination program in Maine as exists for children. Therefore, all-payer claims data is a way to get insight into adult vaccination administration trends and coverage. These data will allow the Division of Infectious Disease Surveillance to collaborate with agency partners, community organizations, health care facilities and hospital systems to improve access to and uptake of hepatitis A and B vaccines. | |
| 2024041902 | Beckner, Chiara | Central Maine Healthcare | 9/16/2024 | 10/29/2024 | MHDO Level II Q1 2020 - Q4 2024 Hospital Inpatient and Q1 2023 – Q4 2024 Hospital Outpatient Encounter Data including City/ZIP, DOB, Anonymous Payer Name/ID and Integrated Cancer-Incidence Registry Data. | The data will be used with other states' public health data to help healthcare providers increase the quality of care they provide to their patients by effectively benchmarking their quality, safety, satisfaction, cost and utilization to their peers. In addition, the data will be used to create a demographically based inpatient healthcare demand model for the Central Maine Medical Center and for the Lewiston/Auburn region of Maine. Benefit to the Citizens of Maine: The citizens of Maine will benefit through CMMC being able to more accurately target and align its investments in programmatic, human, and facility resources to the projected needs of the Central Maine communities it serves. The anonymized payer category information will be used to sufficiently understand the patient population and demographics that Central Maine Healthcare serves to best align service offerings and improve the health of the people and communities served. This will result in better planning for the residents of Maine by understanding care delivery factors and addressing gaps around healthcare equity. The MHDO's integrated Cancer-Incidence Registry Data will be used to align and inform the oncologic service offerings within the Central Maine Region including but not limited to cancer surgical offerings, screenings and treatment options. | |
| 2024082001 | Senechal, Katherine | State of Maine Office of Affordable Health Care | 9/11/24 | 10/24/24 | MHDO Level II Q1 2017 – Q2 2025 Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Encounter Data, Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Pharmacy Claims, Pharmacy Eligibility including City/ZIP, Race & Ethnicity, Practitioner Identifiers, Payer Name/ID, De-identified Person Directory, Hospital Healthcare Quality Data (CMS Measures) and Provider Directory. | In 2021, the Maine legislature created the Office of Affordable Health Care (OAHC) when it enacted P.L. 2021 Chapter 459, Section 3. Among other duties, the establishing legislation directs the office to analyze health care cost growth and spending trends, including correlation to quality and consumer experience, and to develop proposals to improve the affordability, quality, and efficiency of health care in Maine. This project builds upon the previously authorized MHDO data request 2024020502 and seeks to further analyze trends in payor and provider health care spending, health care consumption, and the costs of providing health care using MHDO data beginning in 2017 through the most current data available from MHDO. This request allows OAHC to directly access MHDO data via the NORC Data Enclave. The Office, mandated to identify drivers of health care costs and quality, requires Payer Name/ID information to understand differences in healthcare payments and coverage, allowing for analysis of policy impacts on specific payors and connecting observed trends to policy decisions, demographics, and other factors such as health insurance coverage for services. This project will advance the aims of the office by offering data driven insights into drivers of health care spending, obstacles to affordability, and care quality for Maine residents by creating summaries of aggregated data in proactive or responsive work products for the Maine legislature and other stakeholders. These products may include annual reports, legislative inquiries, and presentations for the public and or the Advisory Council on Affordable Health Care. | |
| 2024051303 | Owens, Pamela | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality | 8/28/2024 | 10/10/2024 | MHDO Level II CY 2023 - CY 2024 Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Encounter Data including City/ZIP, DOB, FIPS Code and Race & Ethnicity. | The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) is a family of healthcare databases and related software tools and products developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). HCUP databases bring together the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, private data organizations, and the Federal government to create a national information resource of encounter-level healthcare data. These national databases enable research on a broad range of health policy issues, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice patterns, access to healthcare programs, and outcomes of treatments at the national, State, and local market levels. The purpose of this project is to continue to integrate MHDO de-identified hospital encounter data with HCUP datasets to enhance healthcare research and analysis. These data will continue to provide insights into hospital care trends, patient safety, and healthcare costs, supporting evidence-based policy decisions and improving healthcare outcomes for Maine residents and nationally. | |
| 2024080201 | Matusovich, Becca | Children's Oral Health Network | 8/12/2024 | 9/24/2024 | MHDO Level II CY 2023 Dental Claims, Dental Eligibility, Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility including City/ZIP, DOB, FIPS Codes, Race & Ethnicity and Anonymous Payer Name/ID. | This data request seeks to add an additional year of MHDO data (CY 2023) to previously approved data request number 2023062101. A copy of the 2022 Maine COHN Data Brief can be found here https://www.mainecohn.org/what-we-do/data. The Children’s Oral Health Network (COHN), formerly the Partnership for Children’s Oral Health, is a broad network of oral health stakeholders who are collaborating toward a shared mission: eradicating dental disease among Maine children. A key piece of this work is to strengthen the capacity of Maine’s oral health service delivery systems to reach all children in Maine with effective preventive and restorative dental care. To create a shared understanding of the strengths and challenges of the current delivery system, we propose an analysis of all-payer claims data that will provide a snapshot of current patterns in utilization of preventive and restorative dental services and look at variations in utilization and cost across payer/insurer type, age group, location/geography, provider type, and setting of care. Additionally, summary data will be reported on children's dental health use to the Kids Count Project, as well as the statewide Shared Community Health Needs Assessment and Public Health District data profiles. This project will benefit the people of Maine because it will help to build shared understanding of ways in which the current delivery system is able to meet the needs of Maine children, and what gaps remain. This will allow for collaborative planning to align resources and coordinate efforts to fill the gaps and increase children’s access to recommended oral health care. | |
| 2024072403 | Ahrens, Katherine, Associate Research Professor | University of Southern Maine | 08/12/2024 | 09/24/2024 | MHDO Level II CY 2009 - CY 2023 Hospital Inpatient Encounter data, including City/Zip, DOB, FIPS codes, Race & Ethnicity and Integrated Vital Statistics Birth and Death data. | This request is an update to previously approved MHDO data request #2024043003, seeking to include Integrated Vital Statistics Birth and Death data. We aim to examine various pregnancy outcomes in Maine. The specific research questions are: What are the trends in delivery and newborn hospitalizations in the state of Maine? Do these trends vary by level of rurality of patient's residence or other patient characteristics, and what are the co-morbidities, pregnancy outcomes, and healthcare utilization associated with delivery and newborn hospitalizations in Maine? We will estimate the trends and characteristics that make up delivery and newborn hospitalizations in the state of Maine. Benefit to Citizens of Maine: This information can lead to the development of interventions to improve maternal and infant health, thereby benefiting the people of Maine. |