Recorded Aug. 30, 2016
Nearly every health care reporter comes across this challenge daily: how to account for costs? Whether writing about the uninsured, drug prices, insurance plans or the business of heath care, journalists are constantly wading through complex web of pricing and related issues.
Consumer Union’s Lynn Quincy (@LynnQuincy) will discuss how to navigate the challenge of health care costs, from finding transparent information on costs and quality to understanding the wide price variations for seemingly similar care. Director of the Healthcare Value Hub at the consumer-advocacy group, Quincy will walk journalists through causes behind price fluctuations by geography as well as underlying consumer behavior issues when it comes to choosing care and coverage.
Quincy, who testified earlier this year in favor of a Massachusetts measure aimed at curbing the rise in drug prices, will go over how the many other costs that consumers face – out-of-pocket payments, copayments, coinsurance and deductibles – can also impact their care. She’ll also cover the latest changes in the health care market under the Affordable Care Act as well as the how the landscape is affecting health care insurers, employers and others.
A former researcher with Mathematica Policy Research and an economist by training, Quincy now leads the value-related center at Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. The Hub focuses on addressing “high healthcare costs, lack of transparency and uneven quality.”
Reporters will learn what’s behind health care pricing fluctuation, find sources for data to track costs, and get resources on insurers, drug pricing and more. Participants will also gain potential story ideas as well as tips for finding consumer-related angles to their next piece.
Susan Heavey, AHCJ’s topic leader for social determinants of health care, will moderate the webcast.
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Lynn Quincy, director, Healthcare Value Hub, Consumers Union
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Moderator: Susan Heavey, AHCJ core topic leader/social determinants of health
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How to participate
Click here, choose the “Enter as a Guest” option, type in your name and click on the “Enter Room” option.Â
A link to the webcast will appear on this page about 15 minutes before it begins. This event is exclusively for AHCJ members so you will need your website login and password. If you don’t have that, please visit this page and enter your email address to have an access key sent to you.
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About the speaker
Lynn Quincy is director of Consumers Union’s Healthcare Value Hub, the consumer advocacy group’s new unit focused on addressing “high healthcare costs, lack of transparency and uneven quality.” With an eye toward health policy, her work focuses on consumer protection, providing better value for healthcare dollars, and both federal and state health insurance reform. Quincy, who earned her master’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland, previously worked at Mathematica Policy Research, the Institute for Health Policy Solutions and Watson Wyatt Worldwide (now Towers Watson).
