Indianapolis Companies Combat Healthcare "Price Blindness"

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Aug 24, 2016, 08:00 ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- An increasing number of Indianapolis employers, including the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, are helping their employees save on healthcare by providing access to the prices local facilities charge for common medical procedures using an online resource www.healthcarebluebook.com.

Healthcare costs for the same procedure can vary a lot from one facility to the next as this ankle MRI illustrates.

"People often overpay for healthcare because they don't realize some facilities charge five to 10 times as much for the exact same service," noted Healthcare Bluebook Founder and CEO, Dr. Jeff Rice. "When people can see healthcare pricing before they buy, they can shop for quality care that is also affordable and that helps both employers and employees."

Price transparency offsets the trend toward higher out-of-pocket healthcare costs for individuals and families due to rising premiums and higher deductibles. From 2004 to 2014 healthcare premiums increased 69 percent, according to Kaiser Family Foundation research¹, and worker contributions increased 81 percent. High deductible health plans can create an additional burden since deductible amounts commonly range from $5,000-$10,000 which has pushed the average annual deductible nationally from $826 to $1214.

But, healthcare cost transparency tools like Healthcare Bluebook can help mitigate increases while encouraging competition among providers that can reduce costs for everyone.

"A key part of our benefits strategy is providing our health plan members with transparency of cost and quality," said Ed Isakson, Director Human Resources, Archdiocese of Indianapolis. "Healthcare Bluebook has been an outstanding partner in providing user-friendly cost and quality information and administering incentives to promote value-based decision-making. For example, we offer a cash incentive for screening colonoscopies at cost-effective providers, which promotes good preventive healthcare and saves our plan up to $6,000 in cost per procedure."

By aligning missional and financial goals, many organizations see healthcare price transparency as a win-win; contributing to healthy people and a healthy bottom-line.

Healthcare Bluebook
Healthcare Bluebook saves people money on healthcare by showing them price and quality differences for common procedures so they can find the best value. It works with employers to make healthcare price transparency available to their employees and directly to individuals via its website and mobile app. Join us in our quest to end healthcare price blindness at www.healthcarebluebook.com

¹ http://kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2014-summary-of-findings/

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160823/400633-INFO

SOURCE Healthcare Bluebook