Price transparency tools available on member portals help people plan for the financial impact of tests and procedures, but many people still don’t know that the information is available to them or that they can shop around for care. Many also don’t realize there’s no difference in quality when it comes to an MRI for their knee even though there are huge price differences based on location and they could save hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket depending on where they go. That’s where HealthSparq Rewards API comes in. We can help drive your members into your cost transparency tools, educate them about cost saving opportunities and reward them with financial incentives for making smarter healthcare choices.
For health plans that already have their own cost transparency solution in place, HealthSparq Rewards is now available as a service, with our Rewards API.  This incentives and engagement program gives your members a nudge to shop around for high-value providers for their next shoppable medical service. If they select a high-value provider, they not only save on their care, but they’ll get a cash-based reward. We make it easy to integrate the program into your health plan’s existing tools so that members see a seamlessly integrated and easy-to-use solution. Plus, HealthSparq takes care of all the details from crunching the data for rewardable services to validating claims and issuing the reward.
HealthSparq Rewards allows your plan to deliver a healthcare financial incentives program tailored to your self-insured employer groups and helps you save on medical costs, helps your employers save, and helps their employees not only save, but earn in the process. Read on to see how this approach works.
Incentives help nudge people to make a change and save hundreds on care
People like to save money. But sometimes they need a nudge to make a change. Incentives are a proven way to get people to make the change to comparison shop for care. While MRIs can vary in price by thousands, as many as 72% of people would choose a recommended imaging center for an incentive as low as $25. HealthSparq Rewards lets people earn cash-based incentives when they shop for many common medical services. From program data to date, we’re seeing an average savings of hundreds of dollars per procedure. Imagine the savings across imaging, surgery and even preventative services, like a colonoscopy, at the group or plan level, just by incentivizing a simple change.
A seamlessly integrated solution offers the best experience for members to learn and make choices
Our Rewards-as-a-Service approach means it can integrate directly into your existing cost estimation tool with our API, so you control the branding from end-to-end and deliver a seamless experience for your members. Our developer-friendly REST API accelerates time-to-market for integrating Rewards into your UX for different apps and tools.
How does it work? As members search for procedure price estimates, they are shown where they can save and earn a reward right in their search experience—no need for extra steps. Just search, select and go. On the backend, HealthSparq Rewards validates the claim to ensure the member visited a rewardable provider and the member gets their reward via email—it’s as simple as that.
Why cash-based rewards? When it comes to healthcare, things are already complicated enough to navigate, so we believe simple is best. Cash-based incentives are not only the most direct way for a member to get rewarded, but also highly effective. Want to get someone to switch from a hospital to a specialty location for surgery to save thousands on a claim? Almost eighty percent of people (79%) will make the switch for a $250 reward.
Sure, shopping for a knee replacement isn’t the same as looking for a new TV or shopping around for airfare for your next vacation. But, since the financial impacts healthcare expenses can prevent people from getting needed care, it is important to help people become smarter consumers of healthcare to save today and also get better outcomes down the road.
Contact us for more details on HealthSparq Rewards and our API-based Rewards-as-a-Service.
