About Us
Our History
Since 1976, Consumers' Checkbook has fought for healthcare data transparency, and has delivered innovative solutions to make choosing health plans and healthcare providers easier for consumers.
Our history
Years of Journey
History
The first edition of Consumers’ Checkbook focuses on healthcare ratings. Using innovative techniques such as surveying clergy for feedback on nursing homes, speaking with EMTS to learn more on emergency rooms, and surveying patients about their doctors, healthcare quality measures are available to consumers for the first time.
Checkbook publishes the first print edition of the Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees, a resource that provides total cost comparisons (premium plus expected out-of-pocket expenses) for every FEHB plan in the U.S.
The Guide to Top Doctors releases to help consumers find physician specialists other doctors “would consider most desirable for care of a loved one.” The resource reveals physicians who are mentioned most often by other area physicians.
The first online version of Checkbook’s Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees launches. Many federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the Department of State purchase access to the Guide for all their employees to use.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, Checkbook sues the federal government to obtain Medicare data to evaluate physician performance on surgery procedures. In 2014 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announces it will release data on Medicare payments to physicians.
In response to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Checkbook launches its first Individuals & Families marketplace plan comparison tool to help Illinois residents determine their eligibility for premium subsidies and to compare ACA health plans on total cost.
Checkbook Health developed health plan quality measures and reporting standards for MN Sure, the Minnesota Health Insurance exchange.
Checkbook Health provides total cost estimates of ACA health plans to help Colorado residents choose a plan on the marketplace.
Checkbook health consolidates and cleans provider data from all participating exchange carriers to create an all-plan provider directory tool. Users can find doctors and understand which exchange plans they participate with from a single interface.
Using newly released data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Checkbook analyzes more than 5 million surgeries performed by more than 50,000 surgeons to create SurgeonRatings.org. This first-of-its-kind website helps consumers identify surgeons with the best patient outcomes for 12 high-risk surgeries.
Checkbook Health built a plan comparison tool for DC Health Link to help DC residents choose ACA plans and to assist small business employees in health plan selections through the Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP). The DC tool is the first to integrate plan attributes, premiums, out-of-pocket estimates, and provider look-up in a single comprehensive plan comparison tool.
Checkbook Health built a plan comparison tool for MNsure to help individual Minnesotans choose ACA plans and to assist small business employees in health plan selection through the Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP).
Checkbook health consolidates and cleans provider data from all participating exchange carriers to create an all-plan provider directory tool.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation names Checkbook Health the winner of its first Plan Choice Challenge, a nationwide competition to design a technology application that helps people choose health plans.
Checkbook Health was the winner of the Provider Network Challenge by creating a solution that allowed consumers to easily identify providers in their insurance network and to solicit patient reviews of providers.
Checkbook Health adds RX drug formulary lookup to the DC Health Link plan comparison tool, allowing users to look-up individual prescription drugs and compare the specific copays/coinsurance amounts of their selected drugs for all exchange plans.
Checkbook health built a plan comparison tool for Vermont Health Connect to help Vermonters compare health plan options and to assist small business employees with their choices.
With funding through the Missouri Foundation for Health, Checkbook Health provided a plan comparison tool on CoverMissouri.org to help Missouri residents to compare health plan options.
As a partnership with the Pennsylvania Insurance department, Checkbook Health launched a plan comparison tool that allowed PA residents to compare both on and off-exchange health plans.
Checkbook Health was scored the highest of all stated-based health insurance exchanges by Clear Choices for its work with DC Health Link by providing an out-of-pocket cost calculator, integrated provider directory, and integrated drug directory.
Checkbook Health launched a plan comparison tool that allowed RI residents to compare both health plan and dental plan exchange plans offered on the Health Source Rhode Island exchange.
Checkbook health provided a plan comparison tool to the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance to help NM consumers select an individual qualified health plan through the New Mexico Health Insurance Marketplace.
In partnership with the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), Checkbook health built an online tool that shows the monthly and annual cost of PrEP for on- and off-Marketplace health plans.
Checkbook health provided a plan comparison tool for the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace to help Oregonians compare their health plan options.
In partnership with Dialysis Patient Citizens, Checkbook Health built a custom plan comparison tool for dialysis patients to quickly compare Medicare fee-for-service plans and Medicare Advantage options.
Checkbook health provided a plan comparison tool for the Get Covered NJ to help New Jersey residents compare their health plan options.
Checkbook health provided a plan comparison tool for the Maine Health Insurance Marketplace to help Maine residents compare their health plan options.
