As we reflected on the purpose of Health Literacy Month, recognized each October, and consider our recent acquisition of Healthcare Bluebook™, we recognize the importance and value of health literacy for everyone across the healthcare value chain.
Health literacy means patients and employers have much more than a basic understanding of healthcare cost and quality data. They also know how to effectively use that data, so they are confident in making well-informed decisions that meet their unique care needs.
Think about it. Healthcare is likely the largest purchase that consumers make and utilize without a full understanding of what they’re paying or what they’re getting. They simply don’t have access to or use the right data and information to make a knowledgeable decision. Low health literacy affects nearly nine of 10 adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As there is minimal patient support in navigating a complex industry, the exponentially higher costs of care, increased hospitalizations and additional claims from low health literacy contribute to an annual cost of $238 billion, according to 2022 BMC Health Services Research.
Finding the highest-quality providers at appropriate costs poses a tremendous challenge when patients are struggling to simply understand their benefits. Our collective challenge is to change the way consumers make healthcare decisions by illuminating transparent cost and quality data before they need care and making it easy for them to find and use that data, to protect the patients and the health plan.
It is the health plan’s fiduciary responsibility to always work in the best interest of its members, providing them with the cost and quality data that helps them make choices about their care. And it is our responsibility to protect the employers and patients – in fact, it’s key to the Vālenz® Health vision of simplifying healthcare and fundamental to our mission to optimize the utilization of high-value care.
What does it take to drive higher health literacy and ultimately simplify healthcare? Patients and employers benefit from a complete cost and quality navigation model with clear guidance to the information they need – including quality ratings and pharmacy cost comparisons, backed with additional solutions that drive cost savings.
Our quality and cost navigation tool (Healthcare Bluebook) supports patients in easily identifying “Fair Price™” providers and comparing quality rankings by leveraging a simple green-yellow-red color-coded categorization system. Green providers are high quality and low cost; yellow means a mix of both; and red indicates low quality and high cost. The easy-to-use provider locator also includes the location and other descriptive information about the provider, along with a clear next step to connect with a navigator to schedule an appointment.
Employers who give their members easy access to the provider lookup tool and support them with a platform of fully integrated solutions focused on overall costs and patient engagement – a digital front door to care, education, intuitive navigation, support to ensure claim accuracy, and more – will see long-term returns. That means the best possible patient care and healthier outcomes, with lower costs across the board.
Valenz Health is committed to the mission of optimizing high-value care to protect the patient and plan – which includes fulfilling our responsibility of increasing health literacy for all those we serve, in every month of every year. We know that when we achieve health literacy, we can make a powerful impact on health equity as well.
Learn more about health literacy at cdc.gov/health-literacy/php/about/ and visit the Healthcare Bluebook free procedure search tool to find pricing and providers near you: healthcarebluebook.com/ui/home
Interested in learning more about how Valenz Health is simplifying healthcare through a model of health literacy and data-driven decision making? Connect with us.