From left: Health care technology entrepreneur Frank Naeymi-Rad, Primary Health Care Association lobbyist Cyrus Winnett and Lake County Health Department director Mark Pfister all testified during a Senate Health Committee hearing on Thursday.

State lawmakers should explore loosening Medicaid spending rules and cracking down on hospital acquisitions to rein in mounting health care costs, a researcher testified on Thursday. Other officials called on state leaders to push for a more centralized system to store and share patient data.