Consumers have an increasing amount of “skin in the game” when it comes to medical and financial decisions for their care, and their interest to access credible information and user-friendly tools and resources about cost and quality is growing.
MBGH Launches Price and Quality Transparency Program to Support Employers in Reducing Medical Costs |
Issued by: Midwest Business Group on HealthDate: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 |
Transparency services help employees make informed health care decisionsCHICAGO – Jan. 27, 2015 – Consumers have an increasing amount of “skin in the game” when it comes to medical and financial decisions for their care, and their interest to access credible information and user-friendly tools and resources about cost and quality is growing. To help employers provide this information to their employees, the Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) is collaborating with two leading transparency service providers – Change Healthcare and Compass Professional Health Services. One of the nation’s leading non-profit business groups of private and public employers, MBGH is implementing this program through its affiliate, the Midwest Health Purchasers Foundation (MHPF).
“We selected two transparency organizations that offer high level services to provide our members with a range of options to meet the needs of their unique populations,” said Larry Boress, MHPF president and MBGH president and CEO. “We understand the health care marketplace is complicated and people need additional help to understand costs and evaluate treatment options. MBGH believes our new price transparency program offers sophisticated technology and expert guidance to help employees identify quality providers and understand the costs associated with their medical conditions.” Change Healthcare (CHC) is a leader in providing online health care consumer engagement and cost and quality transparency solutions. It provides employees a new way to choose and use health care, promoting savings opportunities with personal messaging and educating them to make elective health care decisions based on quality, cost and convenience. CHC helps employers promote their existing care management programs and on-site clinics, while guiding employees to find quality health care and save costs. Compass Professional Health Services’ Health Activation Platform brings together online resources and health care consultants to provide price transparency, prevention and premier providers to help companies create sustainable health care savings and empower employees to make more informed health care decisions. By keeping it simple for employees, Compass helps individuals to select high-quality providers and understand the cost variation between different facilities and physicians, and provides a platform for companies to incentivize employees to get the preventive care they need. Reducing medical costs using price transparency services “The last 20 years of my life have been focused on increasing employee engagement,” said Jan Berger, MD, MBGH medical director and president and CEO, Health Intelligence Partners. “Initially there were few tools available to help consumers make thoughtful decisions. It’s exciting to be working with these two organizations as they support employers and employees to better understand their health care options in a consumer-friendly and easy-to-use manner.” About Change Healthcare About Compass Professional Health Services About the Midwest Health Purchasers Foundation About the Midwest Business Group on Health BL:hh |