New Hampshire HealthCost Quality Data Enhancement (HealthCost Transparency Website)

Opportunity

With the New Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID), we calculated the costs of the health care services and procedures available on the state’s healthcare transparency website, NH HealthCost, to help consumers better understand what they may pay. We expanded the quality measures available on the website to help consumers understand how different facilities in New Hampshire perform and the care they can expect to receive.

Approach

Helping consumers and professionals understand how much health care services cost

Working with NHID, we conducted quality assurance testing of the SAS code used to produce the cost estimates on the NH HealthCost website and recommended and implemented methodological changes for the display of cost information—all with the goal of helping consumers in New Hampshire know what they can expect to pay.

Combatting the belief that higher cost equals higher quality

Integrating meaningful quality data into health care transparency websites is vital to combatting the belief among consumers that higher cost equals higher quality. To empower consumers as purchasers of health insurance and health care services, NHID is improving and expanding the quality information available on HealthCost. Using a set of custom vetting criteria, our team researched existing and new quality measures to integrate into the website. We also helped to develop data display enhancements so that users can better understand the quality data and get a more complete picture of healthcare value.

The results

HSRI ensured methodological changes are implemented according to best practices, to enhance the quality of the data on NH HealthCost and keep it the leading healthcare resource for New Hampshire consumers.

Impact

When they follow best practices, healthcare price and quality transparency tools can benefit both consumers who use the tools and the broader healthcare market.

By providing detailed cost information, including out-of-pocket costs, and quality information in a user-friendly format, NHID is shedding light on variability and helping consumers make informed decisions.

HSRI is a great partner to work with on our price transparency project NHHealthCost.org. The team works closely with us to calculate cost estimates used on the site from our APCD data. All of the analysts on the project are very capable and a pleasure to work with.

Maureen Mustard
Director of Healthcare Analytics, New Hampshire Insurance Department