healthsparq.com

With this lens, we reviewed our analytics data from last year and found some interesting behavior by health plan members searching in HealthSparq One®. * Traffic decreased in conjunction with COVID-19 stay at home orders last spring but reflecting on the whole year we captured an increase of sessions by 19.2% compared to the prior year since HealthSparq One was available to more members than ever before. And while some of our above-mentioned findings probably put a smile on your face, dentists nationwide had indeed something to smile about, since ‘dental services’ has been one of our top five search groups (compared to being on 10th place in 2019)—leaving people camera-ready (with hopefully a smile on their face) for their next virtual meeting or date. HealthSparq’s team is focused on helping people find the right care at the right time.

The files include negotiated rates for all covered items and services, for in-network providers, historical out-of-network billed amounts and payments (subject to minimum payment volumes for privacy protection), and prescription drugs rates for in-network providers and pharmacies. The rule requires online, self-service access to personalized information on member cost-sharing liability, including the amount someone is responsible paying for, including deductibles, co-insurance and co-payments, for covered items and services. Plans must provide this information online and via print for 500 items and services starting no later than January 1, 2023, and for all covered items and services starting January 1, 2024. She notes that people want to save, but they don’t always know HOW to save, so Capital BlueCross wants members to have more control over their care.

While the ‘No Surprise Act’ legislation is largely to bolster protections for consumers against surprise and balance billing in health care, it also includes specific health plan requirements for price transparency and provider directories. Starting with plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, group and individual health plans must offer personalized price comparison guidance by phone and website (Section 114). While more specifics of how plans must implement should be forthcoming, price transparency tools, like HealthSparq One, already provide out-of-pocket pricing to support members when comparing their cost sharing requirements for covered services. Improving the availability and accuracy of provider data For group and individual plans with plan years starting in 2022, the legislation (in Section 116) requires plans to establish a database of direct and in-direct contracted providers and facilities.

We recently announced we’re joining forces with Kyruus, the industry leader in provider search, scheduling, and data management solutions for health systems. This announcement was exciting not only because we found a like-minded partner to help us accelerate innovation, but because we’re excited about the possibilities for health care—to connect care navigation across payer and provider channels, and do it at a scale our industry hasn’t seen before. Joining forces with Kyruus ensures that our current health plan clients continue to benefit from our transparency and guidance platform, HealthSparq One®. With the ability to augment and enhance data to enhance provider data to match people with the right provider and deliver price transparency to new touch points, we can make health care remarkably better for the people interacting with it.