Health Care Transparency a Hot Topic at National Health Insurance Conference

LAS VEGAS, July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In a standing-room only setting at a recent health insurance industry conference, HealthSparq President Scott Decker showed health plans the results of a recent industry survey about healthcare transparency trends and tools, and attendees at the 2013 America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Institute event responded.

In fact, HealthSparq was the number one influencer based on Twitter mentions during the conference, outranking all other parties involved. The topic of transparency is gaining momentum, increasing 400 percent as a discussion topic in social media during and after AHIP Institute.

Research is showing consumers are interested in basing health care decisions on comparison data; however, a recent HealthSparq study found that a majority of health insurers are offering only basic provider search tools, and not essential healthcare cost and quality information to members.

The push for healthcare transparency tools from industry influencers is growing. Decker's presentation came on the heels of a recent AHIP Board of Directors statement that listed "Tackling Barriers to Transparency" as one of three key strategies for reducing healthcare costs. Additionally, just last week the American Medical Association issued a recommendation calling on insurers to provide physicians with better tools to automatically determine a patient's payment responsibility prior to treatment. 

The recent healthcare transparency study was commissioned by HealthSparq and conducted by The Cicero Group, an independent market research firm, found that among health plans transparency is expected to emerge as a point of greater organizational focus. The study also found that interest in third-party tools to provide enhanced transparency for consumers is anticipated to grow. This finding is validated by a recent study by research and advisory firm Aite Group indicating that the healthcare transparency industry is expected to grow to $3 billion by 2016.

"The pressure to provide access to transparency tools is mounting in the marketplace and HealthSparq's cloud-based solutions offer health insurers and employers the power to seamlessly provide decision-marking tools and information to directly benefit their members and employees," said HealthSparq President Scott Decker.

To download a summary report of the study from HealthSparq, visit http://www.healthsparq.com/study.

About HealthSparq

HealthSparq develops healthcare transparency solutions for health plans and self-insured employers. The HealthSparq platform leverages data from a variety of sources, including health insurance claims, linked together with community reviews and discussions to empower consumers to make informed decisions via online shopping for healthcare. HealthSparq is part of the Cambia Health Solutions family of companies and is located in Portland, Oregon. To learn more about HealthSparq, visit www.HealthSparq.com and follow @HealthSparq on Twitter. To request a HealthSparq demo, please send an email to [email protected] or call 855-SPARQ-IT (855-772-7748).

SOURCE HealthSparq