SAN FRANCISCO– January 13, 2014 – HealthSparq, a leading healthcare transparency solutions provider, announced today that it has acquired ClarusHealth Solutions, a leading healthcare provider search vendor. The companies will combine and extend their current transparency and healthcare shopping solution offerings. Together, HealthSparq and ClarusHealth will provide health plans and employers with the most robust and integrated healthcare shopping platform, allowing their members and employees to make informed healthcare decisions, ultimately incurring lower costs.
The combined organization will be a market leader in the integrated transparency and healthcare shopping space, providing solutions and tools to 60 different health insurance plans that together provide coverage for more than 60 million individuals.
As the healthcare industry evolves, the market dictates that consumers have easier access to tools and information that will help them compare healthcare treatment options based on cost and quality factors. Last year, the Board of Directors of America’s Health Insurance Plans issued a statement declaring that improved transparency was one of three key strategies for reducing healthcare costs. In addition, a study commissioned by HealthSparq and conducted by The Cicero Group found that transparency is expected to emerge as a point of greater organizational focus for health plans. Finally, a case study conducted with the largest health plan in the Pacific Northwest showed potential savings of $49 million based on usage of HealthSparq’s Treatment Cost Estimator tool for treatments related to specific medical conditions.
“HealthSparq’s co-founders are healthcare transparency pioneers and our solutions are proven in the marketplace,” said Scott Decker, president of HealthSparq. “Adding the ClarusHealth team and product offering to HealthSparq’s capabilities will allow us to continue to innovate and provide our customers with industry-leading healthcare shopping solutions.”
“We’re excited to join forces with HealthSparq to address the escalating needs of our customers,” said Mark Menton, chief executive officer of ClarusHealth. “The mission of ClarusHealth has always been to empower informed healthcare decisions. By collaborating with HealthSparq, we are able to provide our customers with the most robust and innovative solutions available.”
ABOUT HEALTHSPARQ
HealthSparq develops integrated healthcare transparency software-as-a-service solutions that leverage medical insurance claims, cost and treatment data linked together with community reviews and discussions to empower consumers to make smart, informed healthcare decisions. HealthSparq is a member of the Cambia Health Solutions family of companies in Portland, Oregon. To learn more about HealthSparq, visit www.HealthSparq.com and follow @HealthSparq on Twitter.
ABOUT CLARUSHEALTH SOLUTIONS
ClarusHealth Solutions, formerly PRISM Services Group, is a healthcare software company focused on empowering informed healthcare decisions. Through its Consumer Guidance Platform, Clarus integrates provider search, quality, treatment cost and health information into a single online solution, enabling health plan members and employees to access meaningful information in context. More than 4 million searches are delivered every month through the Consumer Guidance Platform, and Clarus’ health plan clients cover more than one-third of the insured population in the US.
