Turquoise Health Launches Consumer Database for Hospital Insurance Rate Comparison
Turquoise Health's beta consumer search engine allows users to compare estimated out-of-pocket costs at hundreds of hospitals across the United States.
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of price transparency regulation requiring hospitals to disclose traditionally secret negotiated rates, Turquoise Health has launched the first hospital comparison engine for consumers to make cost-effective care decisions based on their insurance.
Hospital price transparency is notoriously difficult to solve. Prior to January 1st, a consumer's only option was to call the hospital, browse a confusing chargemaster file, or rely on an insurance portal. But this takes time and requires too much effort when considering multiple options - such as driving to another town or paying with cash.
On the Turquoise Health platform, users can easily view hospital quality information, prices specific to their insurance plan, and how their local hospital compares to the market. This service requires no sign up or payment.
"It's difficult to find price transparency information on a hospital's website. Just as we don't go to every hotel website when we research a trip, we don't want to go to every individual hospital site to compare prices," says Turquoise Health CEO, Chris Severn. "This gives patients a familiar shopping experience while allowing providers to connect to a broader audience."
With new regulations for payers set to take place on January 1st, 2022, Turquoise envisions a near future where patients can browse non-hospital rates (e.g., a surgery center) and see their insurance information automatically populated. "The whole market is becoming more consumer friendly. These laws invite new public data that permit third parties like us to create better consumer experiences."
This data is freshly released to the public, which is why Turquoise calls their platform a "beta version" meant for general research. Hospitals struggled to comply with the rule - thus all rates on the platform require further verification from the provider.
While many hospitals have yet to comply with the 2021 requirement, Turquoise expects 1,200 hospitals to be browsable by the end of January.
To generate revenue, Turquoise sells a suite of software to payers and providers to support price transparency compliance. Organizations can decrease the burden of compliance through One Click Price Transparency, learn from the new data with benchmarking and analytics, and create new "transparency-friendly" contracts using the DIY Provider Contracting software.
"This is only the beginning of reworking hospital billing to be clearer for patients," says Severn.
About Turquoise Health
Turquoise Health launched in 2020 with a vision to simplify healthcare reimbursement through price transparency. CTO Adam Geitgey, formerly a Director of Engineering at Groupon, brings deep consumer marketplace experience to the healthcare sector.
Turquoise invites providers and payers to become Turquoise Verified partners. Using the software suite, organizations create "price certainty" for patients while easing claims adjudication on the back end. Turquoise already counts major revenue cycle partners and hospital systems as satisfied clients.
To learn more, visit turquoise.health or email [email protected].
SOURCE Turquoise Health Co.
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