FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit corporation whose mission is to bring transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through comprehensive data products, consumer resources and support of scientific and economic research on medical and dental care. FAIR Health uses its database of billions of billed medical and dental services to power a free website, fairhealthconsumer.org that enables consumers to estimate and plan their medical and dental expenditures. The website also offers clear, unbiased educational articles and videos about the healthcare insurance reimbursement system. In addition to consumer offerings, FAIR Health licenses data products to businesses, governmental agencies, healthcare providers and researchers. With professional staff of experts in healthcare, statistics, technology and communications, FAIR Health strives to offer accurate, consistent and timely information to all stakeholders in the healthcare sector.
For more information about FAIR Health, products and mission, please visit fairhealth.org
FAIR Health, Inc. was established in October of 2009 as part of the settlement of an investigation by then New York State Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, into the health insurance industry’s methods for determining out-of-network reimbursement. The Attorney General alleged that it was a conflict-of-interest for health insurers to determine “usual, customary and reasonable” (UCR) charges for out-of-network services on the basis of data compiled and controlled by the industry. To determine UCR, the insurers had relied on a database compiled and operated by Ingenix, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UnitedHealth Group. Additional allegations charged that the data was flawed, and that the database was a “black box,” opaque to providers, patients and other stakeholders. FAIR Health was formed to take over and improve the database and to bring transparency, objectivity and reliability to its construction and to the data products derived from it. Mandate
The settlement provided for the creation of a new, independent nonprofit corporation—FAIR Health, which was tasked with:
To fulfill this mandate, FAIR Health has partnered with a team of research universities that constitute the Upstate Health Research Network (UHRN), to develop and maintain the database of healthcare charges. This team includes some of the leading experts in healthcare policy, medicine, economics and statistics from New York State and across the country. FAIR Health also works with an extensive network of other talented advisors and stakeholders to advance our mission. Although FAIR Health was formed as a result of the New York State investigation, the organization has national scope. Our database reflects claims from the entire country and our data products are licensed throughout the United States.
