government
Federal consumer health website expanded
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 5, 2011
Small-business owners now can compare benefits and costs for health plans under an expansion of functionality on healthcare.gov, a consumer information site created by a provision of the health system reform law. More than 530 insurers provided details about more than 2,700 health plans nationwide, according to a Nov. 18 announcement by the Dept. of Health and Human Services.
"The new, unprecedented ability to search at this level of detail will bring the marketplace into better balance by giving insurance purchasers the power of information," said Steve Larsen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The expanded functions include the ability to search for health plans by ZIP code and sort the results by out-of-pocket costs, per-enrollee costs and other criteria. Small-business owners also can view co-payment options, included and excluded benefits, plans' compatibility with health savings accounts, and more.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/12/05/gvbf1205.htm.
