A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last week effectively limits the amount of healthcare claims information a state can gather. But one Connecticut official says the decision may not be the blow that many people think.
Every time you go to the doctor, that generates a claim with your insurance provider. And those claims are full of an incredible amount of information. For years, health policy folks have wanted to take that information and put it into a database by state, and the point was clear: to learn more about how much health care costs. The database wouldn’t include identifying information, but it would include almost everything else.
“A lot of people don’t see that, at certain locations, an MRI might cost $400 and at a different location it might cost $5,000," said Jim Wadleigh, the head of Access Health CT. His team is developing Connecticut’s database. “The purpose here really is to give that transparency and ultimately allow consumers to see the cost of healthcare and even influence healthcare rates with carriers.”
But, last week, the U.S. Supreme Court said states can’t compel companies that self insure to provide their data. So, in Connecticut, Wadleigh said that means the state’s database won’t have the data for roughly 20 percent of its residents. Lots of healthcare watchers lamented the decision, but Wadleigh is still optimistic.
“This isn’t necessarily a bad thing," Wadleigh said. "Once we show the value of the data, then the employers will see that it’s going to be helpful for them as they look to price out what it costs to insure their employees.”
Wadleigh is hoping a new state website with all of the data it does have will be ready for residents, employers, and insurers to sort through by summertime.
