The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has launched a nationwide program called Blue Distinction that it says will create an “unprecedented level of healthcare transparency” for 94 million Americans. The program has three components: cost information that will allow consumers to compare average prices of procedures or episodes of care by hospitals and physicians, access to hospital quality data from CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and identification of high-quality programs for bariatric surgery and cardiac care based on clinical data from hospital registries. Currently, 17 Blues plans are participating in demonstration projects to identify and test the most effective way to help consumers learn about the absolute and relative costs of physician and hospital services. Members in those markets will be able to view different sets of data, from cost ranges for a specific diagnosis or procedure to rankings by hospital and physician from least expensive to most expensive. On July 1, members can also access a national provider locator to find bariatric surgery and cardiac care centers that meet the Blues’ requirements for quality and outcomes. Click here for more information about Blue Distinction.
