COVID-19 Resources Added to FAIR Health Consumer Website

January 21, 2021

In 2020, FAIR Health added several COVID-19 resources to its free, award-winning cost transparency website fairhealthconsumer.org, rendering the consumer tool even more useful in these challenging times. The resources include typical costs for COVID-19 testing codes, an article on dealing with COVID-19 costs, and total treatment costs for three different COVID-19 scenarios. Other highlights of 2020 can be found in the FAIR Health Consumer year-end statistics for 2020, which, like last year’s statistics for 2019, shed light into what types of people are using the site and why.

In 2020, FAIR Health and its consumer website (also available in Spanish at fairhealthconsumidor.org) won seven eHealthcare Leadership Awards, the most such honors it had ever received in a single year. The awards included the Mark Gothberg eHealthcare Organizational Commitment Award, the highest honor of the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, recognizing industry leadership, innovation and commitment.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: “Each year, FAIR Health Consumer’s year-end statistics show again how a healthcare cost transparency website can attract a broad range of users. We are pleased to see that consumers across the country are using the cost lookup tools and educational resources on the site to navigate the complexities of the healthcare system.”

Top Medical and Dental Search Terms
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 2020, procedure codes were added that allowed consumers to search for diagnostic tests for active COVID-19 infection and tests for past COVID-19 infection.

In 2020, the top five medical terms searched with the medical cost lookup tool were:

  1. Physical therapy;
  2. Chiropractic;
  3. Anesthesia;
  4. Psychotherapy; and
  5. Ultrasound.

“Physical therapy” climbed up the list from 2019, when it was the fifth most common term searched. The rest of the top five terms were different in 2019.

In 2020, the top five dental terms searched were:

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

The top five dental terms in 2019 were the same, though in somewhat different order. “Root canal” topped the list both years.

Age and Gender
Although adults across the age spectrum used FAIR Health Consumer in 2020, the largest age group was that of individuals aged 65 and older—a change from 2019, when the largest age group was that of individuals aged 25-34. The age breakdown of FAIR Health Consumer users in 2020 was:

  • 18-24: 8.84 percent;
  • 25-34: 19.86 percent;
  • 35-44: 14.05 percent;
  • 45-54: 15.36 percent;
  • 55-64: 19.56 percent; and
  • 65+: 22.33 percent.

In 2020, 63 percent of FAIR Health Consumer users were female, 37 percent male. The percentage who were female grew since 2019, when 57 percent of users were female.

Insurance Status
As in 2019, all types of insurance status were represented among FAIR Health Consumer users in 2020, including out of network (31.5 percent), in network (28.4 percent) and uninsured (12.7 percent).

Top User Locations
The top 10 states from which visits to FAIR Health Consumer originated in 2020 were:

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

The list of top 10 states in 2019 was similar, except that it included Oregon (in fourth place) and did not include Ohio. In both years, all four US census regions (Midwest, Northeast, South and West) were represented.

Most Popular Educational Topics
FAIR Health Consumer features a rich library of FH® Insurance Basics, articles and videos on healthcare costs and health insurance. One article added for 2020 is “How to Deal with COVID-19 Medical Costs.” The most popular educational topics from this library in 2020 were:

  • Types of out-of-network reimbursement;
  • Negotiating your costs;
  • How to review your medical bill;
  • Estimating costs for a hospital stay; and
  • Healthcare services not covered by health insurance.

Most Frequently Visited Total Treatment Cost Bundles
Using FAIR Health Consumer’s medical cost lookup tool, consumers can view the overall cost of caring for certain chronic and acute conditions and event-based procedures with FH® Total Treatment Cost bundles. In 2020, bundles were added for three COVID-19 scenarios: hospitalization, hospitalization with complexities and non-hospitalization. The most frequently visited bundles in 2020 were:

  • C-section;
  • Vaginal delivery;
  • Knee replacement;
  • Hip replacement; and
  • Type 1 diabetes.

For an infographic with these statistics, click here.