Transparent Cost and Quality Information helps develop health care savvy employees
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Castlight Health, developer of a personalized health care shopping portal offering unbiased information about health care cost and quality, announced today that Esterline Corporation, a leading worldwide supplier to the aerospace and defense industries headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, will be providing the Castlight portal to its employees across all 23 of its U.S. locations.
In 2004, Esterline piloted a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) to incent employees who need medical care to seek lower cost and better value treatment with lower health care costs the goal. By 2007, the majority of employees had transitioned into CDHPs, but they had limited tools to compare price and quality of care. The company is now looking to Castlight Health to arm their employees with the best cost and quality information to help them control out-of-pocket expenses, and to help them make the right health care decisions for themselves, their families, and their company.
"Our consumer-directed health plan, when combined with Castlight's portal, will further prove that given the right tools, employees will find better health care value, while seeking appropriate quality care," said Teresa Sebert, Esterline's Director of Benefits. "In 2010, our average employee spent 26% less on medical costs than they did in 2006 -- including premium and provider direct costs, and the company's expense was controlled to an average of 6% per year which was better than the market average. We expect to see further increases in savings with the addition and adoption of Castlight."
Castlight's portal is highly personalized with an intuitive interface similar to the most popular online comparison shopping tools. This familiarity leads to rapid user adoption, so large employers across the country can quickly empower their employees to make health care decisions that increase their quality of care while decreasing costs.
"What people often don't realize is that prices for medical services can vary drastically – even for in-network providers in a single region," commented Dena Bravata, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Castlight Health. "Therefore, Castlight's ability to provide a personalized health care shopping portal is paramount, and given that Esterline is a national leader in tackling health care costs, it makes us even more excited to assist their employees in finding quality health care at the right cost."
About Castlight Health
Castlight Health enables employers, their employees, and health plans to take control of health care costs and improve care. Named #1 on The Wall Street Journal's list of "The Top 50 Venture-Backed Companies" for 2011 and one of Dow Jones' 50 Most Investment-Worthy Technology Start-Ups, Castlight Health helps the country's self-insured employers and health plans empower consumers to shop for health care. Castlight Health is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by prominent investors including Venrock, Oak Investment Partners, Maverick Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Wellcome Trust, Cleveland Clinic, and U.S. Venture Partners. For more information, please visit our web site at http//:www.castlighthealth.com or call (888) 227-8544.
SOURCE Castlight Health