The Houston Chronicle reports, a new Web site designed to help consumers and small businesses learn more about their health insurance options.

It offers a range of ways to compare health plans, including side-by-side comparisons of monthly premiums, deductibles and coverage options. Users of the site can search for information in various ways, such as plans with monthly premiums of less than $100 or deductibles under $500 annually.

CMS recently released preview data to the hospitals who submitted their patient satisfaction survey data, leading to this statement that the survey data composite scores contain a pretty large error that skewed a lot of the results, as well as some confusion over how the data would be reported in the HHS public Hospital Compare Web site. From the HCAHPSOnline site:

The following is a summary of legislation by state regarding the disclosure by hospitals of their hospital infection rates.

Arkansas

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas rolled out its physicians rating Web site on April 30 at www.bcbstx.com. The move is part of an industry push to be more transparent -- to share quality and cost information with consumers so that they can make educated health care decisions. Users of the Website, regardless of whether they are a Blue Cross member, can log on to this site, and view how a particular physician (if that physician participates in the insurer's network) compares to their peers in affordability and quality. Quality is shown by physicians receiving either a light blue or dark blue ribbon, depending on their scores, and affordability is measured by a sliding scale. There are 38 measures in the quality score, but this is expected to increase to 50 measures by early next year.

In follow-up to the news item dated 3/21 that Texas lawmakers were pushing infection reporting legislation, Dallas Morning News reports that Texas state legislature has passed this new measure which will make hospital infection rates public.

Hospitals have access to national data on infections for benchmarks, but the new reporting would be the first time area hospitals could compare numbers. It also would give prospective patients the opportunity to shop around and research hospitals.

The measure requires hospitals to report on rates of several specific infections, including bloodstream infections and surgical site infections from colon, hip and knee surgeries.

In June 2006, Aetna began providing consumers with online access to the rates it negotiates with physicians in several U.S. cities. In August 2006, Aetna posted new information that allows its members in some areas to access price data for the top 30 physician services, as well as physician performance data.

An reported today (03/30) in United Press International, Aetna will now provide Web access to its members to cost and quality data on individual doctors in five new cities. Physician data is available in all or parts of 16 states and the District of Columbia, giving one in five of the company's 36 million beneficiaries price information on their local doctors.

Austin Business Journal reports on a new Web site launched by the Texas Hospital Association in Austin which allows health care consumers to view and compare prices on inpatient hospital services at Texas hospitals. The Web site, Texas PricePoint (www.txpricepoint.org), includes charge data on the most common inpatient services, links to data and general information on all Texas hospitals.

Texas joins Wisconsin, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, New Hampshire and several other states with similar initiatives in place.

Read full article: Austin Business Journal

iHealthBeat reports today a Senate panel approved a bill that would let consumers go online to compare infection rates of hospitals in the state of Texas. The bill's sponsor said she will encourage hospitals and lawyers to work out confidentiality issues before the bill reaches the Senate floor. The bill would let consumers compare infection rates online prior to selecting a hospital

Read full news item: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/index.cfm?Action=dspItem&itemID=132003