FAIR Health Consumer Website Analytics Reveal Users’ Interest in Healthcare Topics
February 22, 2024
In 2023, users of FAIR Health’s free, award-winning consumer website, fairhealthconsumer.org, sought guidance on how to minimize their healthcare costs, obtain coverage for alternative medicine and request in-network coverage for certain out-of-network services. Original articles such as “Negotiating your costs” and “When out-of-network care can be covered in network” were among the most frequently visited educational topics on FAIR Health Consumer. Other insights into search habits and user demographics in 2023 can be found in FAIR Health’s annual infographic on consumer website analytics.
For the 12th consecutive year, FAIR Health and its consumer website won several eHealthcare Leadership Awards for being reliable sources of healthcare information. In 2023, FAIR Health received seven awards, including the Mark Gothberg eHealthcare Organizational Commitment Award, the highest honor awarded, which recognizes industry leadership, innovation and commitment.
Top Medical and Dental Search Terms
FAIR Health Consumer’s cost lookup tools allow users to estimate costs for medical and dental care by procedure and geographic location.
In 2023, the top five medical terms searched with the medical cost lookup tool were:
- MRI;
- Emergency;
- CT scan;
- Ultrasound; and
- Emergency room.
Between 2022 and 2023, “MRI” climbed from third to first place on the list of top medical terms searched on the consumer website. In its stead, “CT scan” ranked as the third most frequently searched term, despite not appearing on the list in 2022. Additionally, “emergency” and “emergency room” were included on the list, exhibiting consumers’ interest in understanding costs related to emergency services.
In 2023, the top five dental terms searched with the medical cost lookup tool were:
- Implant;
- Orthodontic;
- Root canal;
- Extraction; and
- Braces.
The top dental terms were the same in 2022, with the exception of “braces,” which replaced “crowns” on the list in 2023.
Age and Gender
The breakdown of age groups that visited FAIR Health Consumer in 2023 was similar to that of 2022, with 25-34-year-olds making up the largest share of website users—their third year in a row as the largest age group. The age distribution of FAIR Health Consumer users in 2023 was:
- 18-24: 16 percent;
- 25-34: 23 percent;
- 35-44: 22 percent;
- 45-54: 17 percent;
- 55-64: 13 percent; and
- 65+: 9 percent.
In 2023, 54 percent of FAIR Health Consumer users were female, 46 percent male. Though women continue to outnumber men among FAIR Health Consumer users, the percentage who were male grew since 2022, when 45 percent of users were male.
Top User Locations
The top five states from which visits to FAIR Health Consumer originated in 2023 were:
- California;
- Texas;
- New York;
- Florida; and
- Virginia.
Though these states were included on the list in 2022, they appeared in a different order. In 2023, California and Texas rose above New York, which was number one on the list of top consumer website user locations in 2022. In addition, Florida and Virginia swapped places in 2023, respectively ranking fifth and fourth on the list in 2022.
Most Popular Educational Topics
FAIR Health Consumer features a rich array of FH® Insurance Basics, which are original articles and videos that explain complex healthcare topics in easy-to-understand language. The most popular topics from this library in 2023 were:
- When out-of-network care can be covered in network;
- Negotiating your costs;
- How to review your medical bill;
- Healthcare services not covered by health insurance; and
- Getting covered for alternative medicine.
From 2022 to 2023, FAIR Health’s consumer website analytics captured a notable shift in the most popular educational topics. “When out-of-network care can be covered in network,” “Healthcare services not covered by health insurance” and “Getting covered for alternative medicine” did not appear among the most popular educational topics in 2022. “Negotiating your costs” dropped from first to second place on the list, while “How to review your medical bill” rose from fifth to third place.
Top Decision Aids
FAIR Health Consumer saw the addition of several shared decision-making tools in 2023. Shared decision making—the discussion among patients, their caregivers and clinicians to decide on treatment based on clinical options and patient preferences and values—is facilitated by decision aids, which present treatment options for specific clinical conditions or scenarios. The groundbreaking decision aids on FAIR Health Consumer integrate cost estimates with the clinical information. In 2023, the top decision aids on FAIR Health Consumer were:
- Type 2 diabetes;
- Slow-growing prostate cancer;
- Ventilator for people who are seriously ill;
- Uterine fibroids—medication options; and
- Kidney dialysis.
This list features decision aids developed in connection with three separate grant projects: (1) an initiative to advance shared decision making for scenarios related to palliative care, funded by The New York Community Trust; (2) an initiative to advance shared decision making for conditions pertinent to patients of color, funded by the New York Health Foundation; and (3) an initiative to advance shared decision making for conditions particularly relevant to older adults, funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation.
Most Frequently Visited Total Treatment Cost Bundles
FAIR Health Consumer’s medical cost lookup tool provides access to FH® Total Treatment Cost bundles. With these, users can view the typical costs for all components of care for certain chronic and acute conditions and event-based procedures. The most frequently visited bundles in 2023 were:
- Vaginal delivery;
- C-section;
- Colonoscopy;
- ADHD and hyperkinetic syndrome; and
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
In 2023, consumers showed a strong interest in identifying costs for giving birth, with vaginal delivery and C-section ranking as the two most frequently visited total treatment cost bundles. Cost scenarios not included on the list in 2022, but included in 2023, were colonoscopy and ADHD and hyperkinetic syndrome, which replaced hysterectomy and knee arthroscopy. Rheumatoid arthritis was one of the most utilized FH Total Treatment Cost bundles in both years but fell from third place in 2022 to fifth place in 2023.
For the infographic, click here.