Because Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) believes an educated consumer will make better health care decisions, they have announced an enhancement to our Hospital Comparison Tool. Named Care Comparison, this new component of the hospital transparency tool allows members to make informed decisions when choosing a hospital or facility for common medical procedures and related services.

Launched on September 10, 2009, the Care Comparison tool provides Blue claims-based cost information for 35 of the most commonly performed elective medical procedures. This easy-to-use tool allows members to review and compare total treatment costs, both professional and facility combined, for procedures performed at designated facilities in the independently contracted provider network. Included are specified area hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and free-standing radiology centers, including inpatient and outpatient services. Members can also compare cost difference between area facilities by ZIP code.

With the addition of the Care Comparison tool to our existing Hospital Comparison tool, which provides measures of quality for 161 inpatient procedures, customers and members now have access at their fingertips to information comparing hospitals as well as common medical tests and the facilities used to perform them.