why data isn’t enough to achieve price transparency
TRANSCRIPT
More than half of U.S. employers (52%) are on board with the idea of empowering their employees to shop around for the best value care.
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Savings Strategy
Ongoing research into the best methods for lowering healthcare costs points to price transparency as a key component of a successful savings strategy.
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The Goal:
To give employers the right tools to help drive down costs by steering employees away from high-cost, low-value facilities and toward low-cost, high-value facilities for medical services.
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Strategic Plan Design
Employers can begin to manage this with a strategic plan design, but even within networks, charges can vary by over 500 percent for the same procedure.
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You wouldn’t pay five times more for gas, so why would you pay five times more for
healthcare?
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Strategic Plan Design
The right solution involves more than just a comparison of prices. Employees need additional support, including calls to action and incentives to change their behavior.
© Healthgram, Inc. 2015
Strategic Plan Design
Healthcare Bluebook, for example, provides this type of comprehensive solution, which includes quality data and a simple and clear process for employees to follow.
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To be successful, an initiative that aims to decrease costs by driving care to higher-value facilities needs to:
• Focus on members
• Educate employees
• Don’t ignore quality
• Incorporate incentivizes
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Consumers should educate themselves on their healthcare options, as they would when shopping for any retail
product.
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Be member focused. Any price transparency tools or initiatives set in place should be supported by a member-centered approach to care. It needs to extend beyond selecting a facility and into managing long-term treatments, utilization trends and care. © Healthgram, Inc. 2015
Be member focused. This can include a customer-service approach that gets members to the right place and helps them navigate the healthcare system as well as proactive and consistent outreach to those who may need screenings or medical procedures.
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Focus on employee education. Initial steps towards educating employees can include:
• Strategic employee communications that feature examples of real savings
• Testimonials of past participants
• Videos showing just how easy it is to access high-value care
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Don’t ignore quality. Ensure that any tools you are using take into account a quality rating. This will help consumers feel comfortable making a change in providers if their current providers are among those overcharging for services.
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Incentivize employees for making a positive behavior change. When employees choose high-cost providers over low-cost providers, they are in the position to save themselves and the health plan a significant amount of money. Reward these types of savings opportunities with cash or gift card incentives.
© Healthgram, Inc. 2015
Incentivize employees for making a positive behavior change.
Since they will be able to save on medical costs as well as receive an incentive, members will be more likely to price shop any time they need medical services.
© Healthgram, Inc. 2015
Creating your strategy
For more information about building out a price transparency strategy, view our recent post Three Key Features a Price Transparency Tool Must Incorporate. To learn more about Healthgram's price transparency solution, contact us here.
© Healthgram, Inc. 2015
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