Connecticut's FAIR health app aims to improve price transparency, health insurance literacy

FAIR Health, a nonprofit cost transparency and health research company, has launched a free mobile app it says can help improve health insurance literacy, promote transparency in medical and dental costs, and increase healthcare engagement among Connecticut residents.

The "FH Cost Lookup CT" was funded by a grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation. It comes at a time when changes to the Connecticut health system increasingly require consumers to make complex decisions based on costs associated with their medical and dental care.

Those changes include the expansion of coverage through Access Health CT, the state's health insurance exchange; the proliferation of health plans with increased member cost-sharing requirements and narrow networks; and the overall drive toward value in healthcare.

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Available in both English and Spanish, the app includes a feature that enables both insured and uninsured consumers to estimate the region-specific costs of medical and dental procedures received in Connecticut, as well as in the neighboring states of New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The new app is driven by healthcare prices from FAIR Health's database of over 21 billion claims for privately billed medical and dental procedures dating back to 2002. FAIR Health receives data from payers that collectively insure more than 150 million individuals in the private healthcare system.

The app also provides educational articles that explain the fundamentals of health coverage, as well as healthcare issues specific to the state, and can direct users to community resources for healthcare, transportation assistance and other services.

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In addition to FH Cost Lookup CT's development, the grant-funded program seeks to disseminate the app and promote its use through collaborations with community-based organizations, community health centers and health exchange navigators. The program will also develop targeted partnerships with organizations that serve Hispanic communities.

"Having access to basic health information and pricing data is absolutely critical to advancing health equity in Connecticut," said Tiffany Donelson, vice president of program at CT Health. "Now more than ever, it is essential to equip consumers with cost and other educational health resources so that they can make better healthcare decisions. Having the information in the app available in both English and Spanish is an important step in maximizing the impact of health coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act."

Twitter: @JELagasse