Fair Health President Robin Gelburd to Address Northeast Business Leaders on Importance of Making Healthcare Cost Data Ava

Gelburd: Rise of consumer-driven health plans underscores need for greater transparency in health expense data

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Robin Gelburd, president of the independent not-for-profit organization FAIR Health, Inc., is scheduled to address the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) Cost Transparency Forum on Thursday, February 9, at the Concierge Conference Center in Midtown Manhattan. Gelburd will speak about the importance of making data on healthcare costs more transparent and more readily available to consumers.

With the NEBGH gathering conference focused on innovations in cost transparency, Gelburd will highlight how FAIR Health has worked to remove the black box that has historically surrounded data on health costs and insurance reimbursement by giving consumers unprecedented access to healthcare cost data that come directly from contributing private insurance companies.

Using its database, which contains 12 billion de-identified, private healthcare procedures representing more than 125 million covered lives nationwide, FAIR Health launched a groundbreaking free consumer website last year, fairhealthconsumer.org. The site features first-of-its-kind cost lookup tools that provide consumers with the expected cost of medical and dental treatments based on insurance status and geographic area. The site also offers numerous educational resources to help consumers better understand the health insurance reimbursement system.

With Americans looking to take greater control of their healthcare – and employers encouraging them to take more responsibility for their health spending by offering high deductible health plans and health savings accounts (HSAs) – Gelburd will talk about how transparency of medical and dental costs has become a key factor in supporting these purchasing decisions.

Gelburd will also preview new tools that will be added to the FAIR Health consumer site in 2012. These include a Spanish translation of its consumer website; a feature that allows consumers to obtain cost estimates for procedures often performed together, such as anesthesia with arthroscopic surgery; and a function that allows consumers to look up cost estimates for out-of-pocket costs if their insurer bases out-of-network reimbursement on a percentage of a Medicare fee.

The Northeast Business Group on Health is a network of employers, providers, insurers and other organizations that work together to improve the quality of and reduce the cost of healthcare in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

About FAIR Health:

FAIR Health is a national independent, not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to bring transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through comprehensive data products and consumer resources. FAIR Health uses its database of billions of billed medical and dental services to power a free website (fairhealthconsumer.org) that enables consumers to estimate and plan their medical and dental expenditures. The website also offers clear, unbiased educational articles and videos about the healthcare insurance reimbursement system. In addition to its consumer offerings, FAIR Health licenses data products to businesses, governmental agencies, healthcare providers and researchers. With its professional staff of experts in healthcare, statistics, technology and communications, FAIR Health strives to offer accurate, consistent and timely information to all stakeholders in the healthcare system.

CONTACT:

FAIR Health
Ashley Smyth, 212-370-0704
asmyth@fairhealthus.org
or
Rubenstein Associates
Gabe Roth, 212-843-8067
groth@rubenstein.com

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