The healthcare delivery world is rapidly becoming more transparent. Efforts by consumers, the government, and private institutions to make price and quality data available are growing – and they will transform how healthcare executives think and operate. Neither a hard-earned reputation nor brand equity purchased with expensive advertising are enough…
Neither a hard-earned reputation nor brand equity purchased with expensive advertising are enough to maintain consumers’ trust. Increasingly, for non-emergent care, consumers want to know how much a procedure will cost, and they want to compare providers’ quality, safety and outcomes records. They want transparency, with essential information provided in…
In August, 2013, Priority Health claimed the title of first health plan in Michigan to publish specific, regionalized health care costs and quality information by procedure, facility and physician. The company launched this tool so plan members could review and compare prices and quality for more than 300 of the…
The Accountable Care Organization (ACO) was promoted by the Affordable Care Act as one way to address the spiraling cost increases and disappointing quality outcomes that had characterized U.S. healthcare to date. The bill offered financial incentives to encourage adoption of the ACO format, and appears to have been successful…
Private health insurance stands on the precipice of an uncertain future. With the creation of health insurance exchanges and the entry of as many as 15 million uninsured into the market, insurance companies will need to become more effective at consumer based marketing. Clearly, cost will be a major factor, but…
As the financial dynamics of the healthcare industry have become increasingly challenging, much of the healthcare insurance industry has defined its strategic response as doing what it’s always done, but for less. Insurers have gotten tougher in negotiations with providers and employers in order to pay for less. And repeated…
