FAIR Health Releases Educational Resources to Elevate Hispanic Health Insurance Literacy

NEW YORK, August 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- FAIR Health, a leading national, independent, nonprofit organization that advances system-wide healthcare cost transparency through consumer resources, data products and health services research support, announced today the latest addition to its array of educational tools designed to make healthcare and health coverage more understandable to Hispanic consumers. "Immigration and Health Insurance Coverage: What Are Your Options?," an original article available through FAIR Health's consumer website, www.fairhealthconsumer.org, now has been translated into Spanish. The article gained widespread media attention when published in English for the simple and straightforward way it explains public health coverage options available to immigrants. The Spanish translation, entitled, "Inmigración y cobertura de seguro de salud: ¿Cuáles son sus opciones?," can be found in the FH® Health Insurance 101 educational curriculum section of www.consumidor.fairhealth.org, the Spanish-language version of FAIR Health's consumer site.

FAIR Health is known nationwide for its role in bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information for all stakeholders—from insurers and providers to policy makers, researchers and consumers. The organization's free consumer-focused websites and mobile apps feature medical and dental cost lookup tools, powered by the nation's largest repository of privately billed healthcare claims. These tools enable consumers to estimate the costs of out-of-network procedures in their geographic area. The website also offers original health coverage-related educational articles, glossaries of health insurance terms and links to external resources.

FAIR Health resources available to Spanish-speaking consumers include:

• Spanish-language consumer website. All features of the English-language site have been translated for this culturally sensitive Spanish-language version, including most of the CPT^© (Current Procedural Terminology) and HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) code descriptors for medical procedures and services included in the site's cost lookup tools. This feature alone greatly simplifies healthcare cost research for Spanish-speaking consumers.
• Spanish-language consumer mobile app. As part of HELP (Healthcare Engagement for the Latino Population), a program funded by a grant from the New York Community Trust, FAIR Health developed FH^© CCSalud (FH Calculadora de Costos de Salud), a Spanish-language version of our English-language mobile app, FH Cost Lookup, intended to help New York City's Hispanic population estimate their healthcare costs and learn about health insurance. FAIR Health also arranged for the app's dissemination through outreach efforts targeting Hispanic communities city-wide. The app, which also can be used by Spanish speakers nationally, is available for download at the App Store and Google Play.
• Coming soon—Connecticut-centric consumer mobile app in English and Spanish. By the end of summer 2016, FAIR Health will make available a Connecticut-specific mobile app available in English and Spanish that is designed to help improve health insurance literacy, increase consumer engagement in healthcare and promote transparency in medical and dental costs among the state's residents. Funded by a grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation, the app will enable consumers to estimate the costs of medical and dental procedures received throughout Connecticut, as well as in neighboring states—New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The app also will provide educational materials that explain the fundamentals of health coverage, identify specific healthcare issues in the state and include links to state-specific healthcare resources.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated, "FAIR Health is committed to our founding mission of making transparent, reliable information about healthcare costs and health coverage available as broadly as possible, with a special focus on providing easy-to-use, helpful information to consumers. Our goal goes beyond simply making that information available to consumers who request it—we continue to seek out audiences in underserved and vulnerable populations who particularly need tools to navigate the complicated healthcare system."

About FAIR Health
FAIR Health is a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health uses its database of billions of privately billed medical and dental claims to power an award-winning free consumer website and to create data products serving all healthcare stakeholders, including government officials, researchers, consumers, providers, insurers and other businesses. FAIR Health has been certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Qualified Entity, eligible to receive all Medicare claims data for use in nationwide transparency efforts. In addition, FAIR Health's data have been designated as the official data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) programs, as well as state consumer protection laws governing surprise out-of-network bills and emergency services. For more information, visit www.fairhealth.org.

Contact:
Dean Sicoli
Executive Director of Communications and Public Relations
FAIR Health
646-664-1645
[email protected]

CPT ^© 2015 American Medical Association (AMA). All rights reserved

Related Links

http://www.fairhealth.org

SOURCE FAIR Health