Below are four things to know about the FAIR Health database.
1. FAIR Health was created as way to encourage price transparency between payers, providers and consumers.
2. The database came out of a lawsuit in which UnitedHealthcare was accused of manipulating data in its claims database Ingenix to low-ball reimbursement rates to physicians for services. In 2010, UnitedHealthcare agreed to a settlement that required it to spend $50 million to establish the FAIR Health database in a commitment to price transparency.
3. The database stores claims dating back to 2002. FAIR Health adds nearly 1.4 billion claims records each year, contributed by commercial insurers and third-party administrators.
4. Consumers can use the free database to look up treatment costs and plan for medical and dental financial responsibilities. The database is also used to support industry research into cost and utilization trends, geographic disparities in treatment and the impact of regulation on health system delivery.
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