Lantern’s Innovative Methodology for Transparent Specialty Care Pricing

Lantern’s Push for Transparency in Specialty Care Pricing

Lantern, a prominent specialty care platform, has recently taken a significant step towards improving price transparency in the healthcare sector by unveiling its comprehensive savings methodology for surgical costs. This initiative is particularly vital as over half of Americans are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, and often struggle to decipher the actual costs associated with healthcare services.

Understanding Lantern’s Seven-Step Methodology

Lantern’s methodology outlines a clear seven-step process that aims to enhance the accuracy of cost comparisons in healthcare. This process includes crucial actions such as cleaning up claims data, allowing for proper claims lag, and precisely defining episodes of care. Lantern also emphasizes the importance of reviewing outliers, avoiding reliance on incomplete machine-readable files, and accurately accounting for implant costs, which can significantly affect surgical expenses.

Insights from Industry Experts

This move has drawn attention from industry leaders, including Ellen Kelsay from the Business Group on Health and Caroline Pearson from the Peterson Health Technology Institute, both of whom have contributed feedback on the initiative. John Zutter, CEO of Lantern, highlights the pain points employers face, like the burden of needing to break even on healthcare expenditures that regularly ascend into the millions for large organizations. His goal is to foster a transparent dialogue that reshapes how health costs are perceived and understood by employers.

The Call for Industry-Wide Adoption

By making its methodology public, Lantern is not just looking to lead but to inspire an industry-wide commitment to transparency in healthcare pricing. The company encourages other healthcare organizations to disclose their savings methodologies, promoting a culture of accountability that is necessary for employers to make informed decisions regarding healthcare expenses. In Zutter’s words, this new approach calls for a commonly understood language around healthcare pricing, ensuring that all parties can compare apples to apples when it comes to costs.

Conclusion: The Future of Healthcare Pricing

As Lantern embarks on this initiative, it stands as a model for innovation and transparency within the healthcare industry. The data-driven framework aims not only to clarify surgical costs for employers but to set a new benchmark for how healthcare pricing is approached. By fostering open communication and collaboration among industry players, Lantern hopes to empower benefits leaders to manage healthcare expenditures more effectively.