In a significant step toward bringing cost and quality information together to help consumers make informed decisions about their health care, MN Community Measurement has published new information about how much medical groups are paid to provide more than 100 common health care services. MN Community Measurement, a nonprofit organization, already provides objective information on the quality of health care through its Web site, www.mnhealthscores.org.
MN Community Measurement worked with health plans and provider organizations to develop this measure based on a request from Governor Tim Pawlenty's Health Cabinet. "This has been a great example of how we can work together as a community to give people information they can use about the cost of care," said Jim Chase, president of MN Community Measurement.
A piece of the puzzle
The new cost-of-care measure reports the average amount health plans in Minnesota pay physicians and other health care providers to perform 103 health care services, including flu shots, colonoscopies and Cesarean sections. The measure does not include payments to hospitals and other health care facilities for services provided in those settings.
Four health plans in Minnesota provided the data for this measure: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners, Medica and PreferredOne. The measure includes amounts the health plans paid in 2008 for people who received their insurance coverage through their employers, but not for people enrolled in a government program such as Medicare or MinnesotaCare. The data does not give consumers information about how much they will have to pay in copayments for the services. Consumers must consult with their health plans for that information.
The data reveals a wide range of payments for some services. For example, physicians are paid between $325 and $1,354 for their services in conducting colonoscopies, and between $29 and $236 for conducting group psychotherapy sessions.