Empowering Health Care Consumers

By

FAIR Health

Funding Area

Empowering Health Care Consumers

Date

September 12, 2017

This NYHealth-funded website by FAIR Health offers easy-to-use, reliable information on health care costs, allowing consumers to plan financially for commonly performed health care services.

The next phase of the site—expected in February 2018—will also include specific quality metrics for hospitals.

With out-of-pocket costs on the rise, more people are shopping around for affordable, high-quality health care services. It is vital that consumers have information that will help them make good choices about when and where to receive care, and how much they might expect to pay for that care. Despite demand for better information, there has been a widespread lack of health care transparency tools—and tools that do exist are not always designed with patients in mind.

YouCanPlanForThis.org, an interactive health care cost transparency website, will empower New Yorkers from across the State to plan for and manage their medical and dental expenses. Consumers will be able to compare out-of-network and in-network costs on a range of procedures or episodes of care, such as knee replacements or obstetrical care. Additionally, for common procedures, they will be able to view information on health care providers’ practices and prices. The free website also features content, videos, and resources to help consumers better understand health care quality and engage them in decision-making.