For Second Year, “MRI” and “Root Canal” Top Consumer Website Healthcare Cost Lookup Searches

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — For the second year in a row, users of the free, award-winning healthcare cost transparency website fairhealthconsumer.org made “MRI” the top searched medical term and “root canal” the top searched dental term when using the site’s cost lookup tools. The year-end statistics for 2019, like last year’s statistics for 2018, shed light into what types of people are using the site and why. The statistics also show how a healthcare cost transparency site can attract a broad range of users.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: “We are pleased that FAIR Health Consumer continues to be of vital assistance to consumers across the country who are navigating the complexities of the healthcare system. Learning more about the users of our cost lookup tools and educational resources helps us in our ongoing efforts to refine and expand the website.”

Searching for Cost Information
Attracting hundreds of thousands of users a year, FAIR Health Consumer includes medical and dental cost lookup tools that allow users to search for typical costs of healthcare procedures in their geographic areas. In 2019, the top five medical terms searched with the medical cost lookup tool were:

1. MRI;
2. Knee;
3. Dermatological;
4. Colonoscopy; and
5. Physical therapy.

The list was similar to the 2018 list, except that in 2019 “CT scan” dropped from second place out of the top five, while “knee” moved into the top five, into second place, and “dermatological” and “colonoscopy” switched places.

In 2018 and 2019, the top five dental terms searched were the same:

1. Root canal;
2. Crown;
3. Implant;
4. Orthodontic; and
5. Cleaning.

Gender and Age
In both 2018 and 2019, women outnumbered men among FAIR Health Consumer users. In 2019, 57 percent of users were female, 43 percent male.

As in 2018, adults across the age spectrum used the website in 2019, with the largest age group in both years being individuals aged 25-34. This was the age breakdown in 2019:

• 18-24: 6.6 percent;
• 25-34: 27.8 percent;
• 35-44: 21.4 percent;
• 45-54: 16.8 percent;
• 55-64: 14.7 percent; and
• 65+: 12.7 percent.

Insurance Status
As in 2018, all types of insurance status were represented among FAIR Health Consumer users in 2019, including out of network (31.6 percent), in network (28.5 percent) and uninsured (12.8 percent).

Where Are Our Users?
The top 10 states from which visits to FAIR Health Consumer originated in 2019 were:

1. New York;
2. California;
3. Texas;
4. Oregon;
5. Florida;
6. New Jersey;
7. Illinois;
8. Georgia;
9. Pennsylvania; and
10. Virginia.

The top eight states were the same as in 2018, but that year Virginia was in 9th place and Ohio in 10th. In both years, all four US census regions (Northeast, South, Midwest and West) were represented.

Who Are Our Users?
FAIR Health Consumer users in 2019 showed signs of varied interests. Their number included value shoppers/bargain hunters, cooking enthusiasts, avid news readers, avid investors, health and fitness buffs, travel buffs and mobile enthusiasts/early technology adopters.

Most Frequently Visited Resources
In addition to its cost lookup tools, FAIR Health Consumer has educational materials, including articles, videos and a section of resources with helpful links to outside organizations. The most frequently visited resources were those on costs, state resources, locating providers, insurance appeals and dental.

For an infographic with these statistics, click here.

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About FAIR Health
FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation’s largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 30 billion claim records contributed by payors and administrators who insure or process claims for private insurance plans covering more than 150 million individuals. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data products—including benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indices—to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health houses data on Medicare Advantage enrollees in its private claims data repository. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health’s systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers’ compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Marty Makary’s book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care—and How to Fix It and Elisabeth Rosenthal’s book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

Contact:
Dean Sicoli
Chief Communications Officer
FAIR Health
646-664-1645
dsicoli@fairhealth.org

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SOURCE FAIR Health