Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to Fund NORC at the University of Chicago Research on the Value of Cost Transparency in Health Care

CHICAGO, Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NORC at the University of Chicago has been awarded a research grant to study the impact of quality and price transparency on consumer choice of high quality, yet less costly health care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded the grant to NORC researchers under its new initiative, "Understanding the Use and Impact of Price Data in Health Care." NORC will partner with Cerner Corporation, a global health care company, and Change Healthcare, a leading consumer engagement and cost transparency company, on the two-year effort.

"The study will examine how employees at Cerner Corporation respond to Change Healthcare's personalized, proactive cost transparency tools, Ways to Save^TM Alerts and Cost Lookup," according to Elaine Swift, Ph.D., Principal Research Scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago.

Swift and fellow NORC researcher Jon Gabel will assess:

- Whether or not customized cost savings messages drive consumers to lower cost, higher quality health care services.
- Which health care services consumers are likely to change based on access to cost and quality information.
- How demographics, attitudes and other characteristics impact consumer response to customized messages.
- Whether or not the adoption of improved quality information increases the effectiveness of customized messages.
- The characteristics of employees who opt out of receiving customized messages.

"Using claims, survey and utilization data, we will compare cost savings, employee characteristics and quality of care for employees who opted to receive customized messages – versus the comparison group of employees who did not," Swift said. "Our goal is to learn how employees covered by HDHPs respond to transparency interventions and explore ways to encourage informed shopping for healthcare coverage."

"As policymakers, business leaders and consumers struggle to rein in health care costs, evidence on whether or not customized messaging in price transparency holds promise could be a real game changer," Gabel added.

Cerner, a global health care company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., was selected as a partner in NORC's research study because of its long-standing commitment to controlling health care costs and encouraging employee wellness.

Change Healthcare brings to the study a uniquely proactive, personalized approach to consumer engagement that is rooted in behavioral science. Its application of concepts including choice architecture, message framing, bounded rationality and priming – coupled with its use of claims data, comprehensive quality data and user preferences – allows for highly customized cost transparency outreach.  

"There is tremendous value in health care cost transparency and consumer engagement – value for plan sponsors, consumers and our society as a whole," said Change Healthcare President and CEO Doug Ghertner. "Change Healthcare is proud to be a pioneer in this space, and we welcome the opportunity to be rigorously and externally evaluated by a well-respected organization like NORC."

About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent research organization headquartered in downtown Chicago with additional offices in the University of Chicago campus, the D.C. Metro area, Atlanta, Boston, and San Francisco. NORC also supports a nationwide field staff as well as international research operations. With clients throughout the world, NORC collaborates with government agencies, foundations, education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and businesses to provide data and analysis that support informed decision making in key areas including health, education, crime, justice, energy, security and the environment. NORC's more than 70 years of leadership and experience in data collection, analysis, and dissemination—coupled with deep subject matter expertise—provides the foundation for effective solutions to issues confronting society.

About Change Healthcare
Established in 2007, Change Healthcare is on a mission to transform the way Americans purchase and utilize health care services by driving sustainable engagement at the individual level.  With a national client base of health plans and employers covering lives in all 50 states, Change Healthcare is the premier national provider of health care cost transparency and consumer engagement solutions that enable consumers to: better understand and utilize their health care benefits; make informed health care purchasing decisions based on quality, cost and convenience; and manage higher out-of-pocket responsibility and realize savings. To learn more, visit www.changehealthcare.com.

SOURCE NORC at the University of Chicago; Change Healthcare