OH plans, providers share pricing and quality information

This week seems to be a big one for transparency. Not only did Cigna roll out its nationwide physician and hospital rankings program nationwide, central Ohio got into the action, too. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio has published pricing information on medical procedures on a site accessible only to its members this week. Anthem's tool tells members what's paid to providers after contract discounts for 39 common elective procedures.

The move follows similar steps by providers, for example, local health system OhioHealth, which began publishing CMS data on patient care and satisfaction a couple of weeks ago. Also, OSU Medical Center published its data from CMS in late March, with Nationwide Children's Hospital planning to follow up with its own data this summer.

Aetna, meanwhile, has offered its members price information for physicians in central Ohio since 2006, along with a system rating doctors with stars, as well as by rates of patients readmitted to hospitals within 30 days after discharge.

To learn more about transparency in central Ohio:
- read this Business First of Columbus piece [1]

Related Articles:
Critics doubt benefit of posting hospital prices online [2]
Tennessee hospitals put prices online [3]
MN group posts hospital prices to Web [4]
Maryland adds pricing to hospital guide [5]