Cost Board Data Analyst (DSIS2/SPI)

About the role

This Data Scientist position directly influences public health policy. It offers the chance to tackle high-impact problems using advanced analytics while directly supporting a major state health initiative. The incumbent will drive tangible policy changes: shape healthcare policy and improve healthcare affordability by providing actionable insights to the Health Care Cost Transparency Board. They will analyze real-world healthcare claims and supplementary data to solve complex healthcare spending and delivery issues. All HCA employees will apply an equity lens to their work, which may include but is not limited to all analyses of core business and processes.

About the Division

The DATA (Data Acquisition, Transformation and Analytics) team of the Health Care Authority, within the Strategy, Policy, and Innovation (SPI) division, is responsible for leading agency data strategy; and leading the implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of the data management, analytics and reporting systems that inform agency leadership in support of HCA’s goals, as well as for monitoring program performance to ensure accountability and alignment with agency activities.

Duties

• Collect, validate, and/or analyze health care claims, non-claims and other supplementary data to design and develop health care reporting and visualizations for the Health Care Cost Transparency Board and to help the agency make data-driven decisions.
• Generate data products from structured and unstructured data sources using programming languages such as R, SAS, SQL, M code and/or Python to write data code/query scripts.
• Develop algorithms, build data models, and automate data processing tasks.
• Partner with requestors to develop and/or translate data requests into analytic projects supporting the Health Care Cost Transparency Board.
• Provide consultation to data requestors and data users regarding data access, feasibility, statistical validity, etc.
• Work with appropriate business analysts or business owners to determine resolution of complex issues, using innovative methods to solve complex technical challenges.
• Develop, interpret, communicate, and present data science findings to a variety of audiences, including colleagues, policymakers, and the public.
• Determine and verify analytic project conclusions and translate information into insightful recommendations.
• Develop health care data science modeling, evaluation, research, and statistical analysis for Health Care Cost Transparency Board.
• Use quantitative research methods commonly used in scientific, surveillance, and/or actuarial and economic research to analyze and interpret data.
• Monitor, address, and/or provide consultation for changes, gaps, and other impacts to healthcare spending data sources and infrastructure.
• Troubleshoot issues in a timely fashion and minimize disruption of data transmission.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in informatics, data science, mathematics, computer science, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, or related technical or quantitative field, within health care, public health, and/or behavioral health.
• Bachelor's degree in informatics, data science, mathematics, computer science, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, or related technical or quantitative field, with two (2) years of professional experience performing data science or informatics data work, within health care, public health, and/or behavioral health. Experience must include at least two years’ experience working with complex analytics, data visualization software and R, SAS, SQL, M code and/or Python programming.
• Six (6) years of professional experience performing data science or informatics data work, within health care, public health, and/or behavioral health. Experience must include at least two years’ experience working with complex analytics, data visualization software and R, SAS, SQL, M code and/or Python programming.

Required Competencies

• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of medical and/or pharmacy coding such as ICD-10, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes; health care business and systems; research methods; advanced statistical theory and techniques.
• Comfortable interacting with staff members at all levels of the agency; high level of workload management including organization and prioritization of tasks; ability to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team; excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced experience working with large and complex data sets; advanced level SQL, R, Python, SAS or other programming skills; experience with data visualization using Power BI, Tableau and other similar visualization tools.