Health care can and will be affordable and accessible once again.

One of the major problems with the US health care system is that it lacks price transparency and this has been discussed for so long that this concern has almost lost its meaning. Quite simply, it means that when you get treatment you have no idea what it is going to cost until the bill arrives. You would never accept this situation at the grocery store or while car shopping so why do we accept it in health care? The reality is we have for far too long and it must change. At Talus we believe this is the beginning and the end of where the problem lies with our health care system and we have set about to eliminate opacity in the health care arena.

Talus has created a set of price indexes that directly measure the price of health care based on actual payments made from insurance companies to physicians and hospitals. What this means in practice is that by observing this index we are able to identify the cost of health care directly and make a specific measurement of what the cost is. Not only will we be able to measure health care costs in real time but we will also be able to give exact costs. Patients, health insurers, doctors and hospitals alike will use these indices to improve all aspect of their health care needs. When you observe the following index graph it will become obvious what this means.

When armed with this information, providers (hospitals, doctors) and payers (insurance companies, large employers) will become much more effective negotiators and prices will stabilize. Patients will benefit as this price becomes transparent by services that will tell them what a cost for a procedure is before they even have their first visit. As prices become transparent, negotiations will improve. As negotiations improve, prices will stabilize. As prices stabilize, we all will benefit. This process is the first step in a great transformation but it will proceed quickly once we eliminate current hurdles. Health care can and will be affordable and accessible once again and this is the first step in that process.

To learn more please visit our contact page and we will gladly provide more information.