Avalere Health, LLC

Even as health care costs are increasingly shifted onto consumers, price information remains largely opaque.

Many people are unaware that quality information currently exists to support their information needs and decision-making, and the use of price and quality websites and tools is low. One way to expand this knowledge is to equip doctors and their staff members with the tools and skills needed to discuss prices with patients, or at least refer patients to reliable sources of price information. Although it may seem burdensome for providers who are short on time, an easy first step is to start discussing costs and coverage generally, and then guide patients toward more specific price information sources. In 2018, NYHealth awarded Avalere Health a grant to advance these efforts. Avalere Health provided counsel and expertise in support of a new initiative that will engage statewide associations of primary care physicians to put price and quality tools into the hands of health care providers and spread the uptake of information tools by consumers.

Under this grant, Avalere Health worked with NYHealth staff on launching a new statewide initiative to connect consumers to information about prices and quality through their health care providers. The NYHealth initiative supported multiple statewide associations of primary care providers to educate their members on how to engage patients in conversations about cost and quality choices. Avalere Health provided strategic counsel to inform NYHealth’s planning for this initiative, including a kick-off meeting with the selected grantees that offered opportunities for collaboration and laid the groundwork for a successful program.