IMPAQ Launches First in the Nation Out-of-Pocket Health Plan Cost Calculator for New Yorkers with Chronic Conditions

Insurance Weekly News

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- IMPAQ Health is excited to announce the release of the NYPlanCosts Calculator, the first of its kind in the nation and a model for other states, available at http://NYPlanCosts.org.

Designed to help New Yorkers make more informed health plan selections, the NYPlanCosts Calculator is an easy-to-use website that provides out-of-pocket cost estimates by health plan for people with any of the 10 chronic conditions and life events that usually have high out-of-pocket costs: Bipolar Disorder, Breast Cancer, Diabetes, Pregnancy & Childbirth, Heart Disease, Hepatitis C, HIV, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Schizophrenia.

For people with any of these 10 conditions and life events, out-of-pocket costs can be high and vary significantly by health plan. For example, a fifty-five-year-old New Yorker with coronary artery disease shopping for health insurance in Queens county may compare silver plans with out-of-pocket cost differences of up to $3,000 annually.

Tools that help consumers predict out-of-pocket costs can lead to more informed health plan choices that are better for New Yorkers' health and wallets. To meet this need, the NYPlanCosts Calculator provides tailored out-of-pocket cost estimates to facilitate transparent health plan comparison shopping.

IMPAQ Health engaged with New York Navigator groups to ensure that the calculator is user-friendly. "We look forward to using the calculator during open enrollment and beyond," said Elisabeth Benjamin, Vice President of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York.

With the launch of the NYPlanCosts Calculator, IMPAQ Health shows its continued commitment to improving health plan transparency to drive empowered decision making. Support for the NYPlanCosts Calculator was provided by the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth).

"With hundreds of different products to choose from, selecting a health insurance plan can be daunting for consumers, especially as many costs only show up after treatment and out-of-pocket costs can end up being much greater than just the monthly premium," said David Sandman, Ph.D., President and CEO of NYSHealth. "The NYPlanCosts Calculator is a game-changing transparency tool to find and compare out-of-pocket costs by different health plans and by different conditions-helping New Yorkers to make the right choice for themselves and their families."

The NYPlanCosts calculator can be found at http://NYPlanCosts.org. For more information, please read our fact sheet and visit the project webpage.

Keywords for this news article include: Managed Care, Health Insurance, Health and Medicine, Impaq International.