UnitedHealthcare announced this week the launch of myHealthcare Cost Estimator, an online tool that allows its members to search for quality healthcare providers while also providing them with a cost estimate for more than 100 different procedures.
The launch of the tool comes as more and more healthplans are looking to make their members better informed consumers of healthcare and to help keep them in the healthplan's network, which keeps costs lower for both the member and the insurer.
"myHealthcare Cost Estimator meets a longstanding consumer need for thorough but simple online comparison shopping for healthcare by putting relevant information right at people's fingertips," said Yasmine Winkler, chief product and marketing officer of UnitedHealthcare, in a press release. "myHealthcare Cost Estimator enables people to make better care decisions, by better understanding their treatment options, comparing services and anticipating future costs."
According to the company, its oline cost calculator draws directly from the contracted rates with physicians, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare providers in 47 different markets where UnitedHealthcare operates, effectively making it available for more than 14 million members.
In addition to providing estimated costs for individual treatments the tool builds "care paths" that provide its members with a roadmap of what they should expect over their course of treatment from the first doctor visit until the end of treatment.
Quality and cost information is directly connected to in-network hospitals and physicians, and provides members with alternate treatment options to help members discuss their course of treatment with their physicians.
"UnitedHealthcare's myHealthcare Cost Estimator is the kind of innovation that can enhance access to quality care by helping people become more savvy healthcare consumers," said Clint Hailey, chief managed care officer, Tenet Healthcare, in a prepared statement. "Transparency in quality and cost information is key to not only empowering individual patients and their families, but also helping to improve our nation's healthcare system."
Key features of the tool include:
- cost estimates for more than 47 geographic areas covering more than 100 different treatments and procedures, such as surgeries, lab tests, radiology tests and office visits;
- ability to compare quality and cost information for 240,000 different physicians and hospitals;
- cost estimates that are tailored to a plan participant's specific benefits plan design that identify what will be owed out-of-pocket, costs that will be paid by their employer and real-time account balances available in an eligible healthcare account to pay toward the expenses;
- ability to assemble cost estimates by matching physicians with the specific facilities where they practice;
- presentation of common alternate treatment options to educate patients on their choices; and
- educational information about how their benefits work and how costs are determined.
According to the company, myHelathcare Cost Estimator will be integrated with Health4Me, its mobile app for iPhone and Android devices later this year.