Harvard Pilgrim CEO Eric Schultz discusses consumer engagement and transparency

[audio http://healthbb.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/e20schultz205-17-13.mp3]
HarvardPilgrim HealthCare, which has been ranked as the best health plan in the US for the past nine years, is taking new steps in the areas of consumer engagement and price transparency. It recently became the first health plan to select transparency vendor Castlight Health to provide patient-specific price information.In this podcast interview, CEO Eric Schultz discusses the "journey" the organization has taken on price transparency, why they decided to work with Castlight, and the state of transparency tools for referring physicians. Schultz describes the concept of "aided" transparency to help consumers transition from established approaches to more value-oriented behavior, and explains HarvardPilgrim's new Now iKnow and SaveOn initiatives.----By David E. Williams of the Health Business Group.